
Class J. 

Book '-if ^ ^ j4^l_ 



<f 



DOCUMENTS 



f 



EELA-ilVE TO 



THIS CIbAIM 



2 



EARNEST REQUEST 



THE GENTLEMEN OF CONGRESS WILL DO HER THE 
FAVOR TO READ THEM. 



- WASHINGTON: 

1S34. 

JAMES C. DUNN, E St., NEAR THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE. 



p -2, 3 ^^ 



% 






(CIRCULAR.) 

Washington, Dec. 15th, 1825. 

Dear Sir: — I have submitted a claim to Congress; and I 
am induced to trouble you with a few details lelative to it, 
which, although pretty generally known at the time tiiey oc- 
curred, have, I am afraid, been long since forgotten, except 
by those persons particularly interested in them. 

My beloved husband attributed all the success of his last 
brilliant cruise in the Mediterranean, to the impression that 
had been made upon those nations by the recapture of the 
Philadelphia, and the attack upon the Tripolitan gun-boats: 
and I think you will perceive the probability of its truth, if 
you will compare his Squadron (three Frigates, and two or 
three smaller vessels) with that of Lord Exmouth, which 
soon followed, and which the Algerines resisted, and com- 
pletely cut to pieces.* 

When my beloved husband arrived off Algiers, with the 
force I have mentioned, he had prepared, on the passage, a 
treaty, containing all that this Government had ever desi- 
red, or tliat he himself could anticipate: more than had ever 
been granted, or even asked for, by any other nation. f This 

* List of Vessels composing the combined Fleets under Lord Exmouth. 

Queen Charlotte, .... 100 guns. 

Superb, 74 

Albion, 74 

Glasgow, 40 

Hebrus, 36 

Heron, "^ 

Mutine, j 

Prometheus, )-Brigs. 

Cordelia, | 

Britomart, J 

Flotilla, consisting of four gun-boats, ten mortar-boats, five rocket-boats, 
thirty -two gun-boats, barges and yawls. — Total 55. 

Dutch. 

Melampus, 40 guns. I Frederica 44 guns. 

Diana, 40 Amstel 44 

Dagaraad, 36 | Endracht, 24 

The English had six hundred and ninety-five wounded, and one hundred 
and thirty-eight killed. The Dutch had thirteen killed, and fifty-two 
wounded. 

The squadron under Commodore Decatur consisted of three frigates, one 
sloop of war, one brig, and three schooners. 

fArticle 18th of Com. Decatur's Treaty with Algiers, states, that, "if 
any of the Barbary powers, or other States at war with the United States, 
shall capture any American vessel, and send her into any port of the Regen- 
cy of Algiers, they shall not be permitted to sell her, but shall be forced to 
depart the port on procuring the requisite supplies of provisions; but the 
vessels of war of the United States, with any prizes they may capture from 



Impregnable, 98 guns. 

Minden, 74 

Leander, / 50 

Severn 40 

Granicus, 36 

Infernal, "^ 
Belzebub, 
Hecia, 
Fury, J 



'' >Bomb Vessels. 



4 

treaty he sent on shore with a note to the Dey, stating that if 
it was not signed and ictiirncd to hini within five lioiirs, he 
would not treat with him at all- It was accordingly signed 
and returned within the time specified; and the Dc} obser\ed 
to one of his ministers, in the presence of the interpreter, that 
he wouhl not have agreed to such terms for any power in the 
worhl. except the man who went in a dark night, and burnt 
the Philadelphia — that there was no knowing what such a per- 
son might do; and it was better to make peace upon his own 
terms. And thus was obtained for the United States, witliout 
the sacrifice of a life, or a spar, or even a I'ope, what, in a 
few moiiths afterwards, cost England a great many lives, and 
some millions of dollars to repair the injury sustained by Lord 
Exmoutli's squadron,* (the largest ever sent out from Eng- 
land) in obtaining liis treaty; and which treaty has already been 
violated, and the nation subjected to all the expense of another 
war; wliereas I have not heard that either Algiers, or any 
other of the Barbary powers, has manifested any disjjosition 
to break with us; which I think is a ]»roof that they stand 
moj'e in awe of us than of any other nation; and there has been 
nothing to pi'oduce such an impression, except my biloxed 
husband's tei-rific attack upon them — encountering them hand 
to hand, while under their own battei-ics; a mode of warfare 
to wliich t!;ey were not accustomed IVom tiieii- Christ iari ene- 
mies; and which had such an effect upon them, thatthis nation 
is at this day I'eaping the benefits of it — and, I am alVaid, 
without recollecting from whence they are derived. 

their enemies, shall have liberty tofrcqiiciU tlie portsof Algiers for refresh- 
ments of any liiiul, andlosell such prizes in tiie said ports, witliout paying 
any other customs oi' duties than such as are customary on ortiinary com- 
mercial imporlations." 

This article our government voluntarily relinquished in 1815, in the fol- 
lowing words: — 'I'he United States of America, in oider to give the Dey of 
Algiers a jjroof of their desire to maintain the relations of peace and amity 
between the two powers, upon a footing the most liberal, and in order to 
witlidrw any obstacle which might embarrass him in his relations with other 
States, agree to annul so much ot the 18ih Article of the foregoing treaty, 
as gives to the United States any advantage in the ports of Algiers, over 
the most favoured nations having treaties with the Uegency. 

The Secretary of the Treasury, (the Honorable Oliver Wolcott) in are- 
port to the President, dated the 4th Janup.ry, 1797, estimates the expense 
of tl^elate Treaty of Algiers, at one million of dollars, with an annual 
/r/iu/tf of eighty thousand dollars. See Goldsborough's Naval Chronicle, 
p. 65. The present Treaty did not cost you a dollar! It was obtained so/f/t/ 
through terror of my husband's name! — so far from costing you any thing. 

* Extract from Lord Exmouth's official letter. — "Would to God, that in the 
attainment of this object, I had not deeply to lament th.e severe loss of so 
many gallant officers and men; they have profusely bltd in a contest which 
has been peculiarly maiked by proofs ofsuch devoted heroism, as would 
rouse every noble feeling, did 1 dare to indulge in them " 

N. B. There were an hundred a:id thirty-eight killed, and six hundred 

•^\\i\ \\\1^^.''.\■ .\\\ c Moiir-1'^d 



It is now more than twenty years, that the United States 
2iave not lost a single cent by the depredations of any of tlie 
Barbary powers; and diii-ing that period, there is not another 
maritime power in the world, that has not been more or less 
subjected to their plunder. 

The Dey of Algiers paid for every dollar's worth of proper- 
ty, to a very large amount, he had seized and captured (hiring 
the war; a circumstance so unexpected to our Goveinment, 
that they liad not even authorized the demand to be made. 

So soon as the peace with Algiers was concluded, my be- 
loved husband proceeded to Tripoli and Tunis: and both 
these places immediately paid down the full value of the Ameri- 
can vessels which tluy had permitted the Bj-itish to cut out 
of their ports during our war with England. * /> 

1 pi'esume evei-y o)ie will admit, that a prize niide with 
such an incredibly inferior force, as in the case of the Phila- 
delphia, ought to belong exclusively to the captors, and that 
the same valour and spirit of cnteipi'ise which had enabled 
them to retake her, \\<uild have enabled them to bear her off, 
if the Commanding Oiiicer of the squadron had pei-mitted tliem 
to make tlieexpei'iment. During the late war with Enghind, 
our Commandej-s were pei-mitted to exercise their own <lis- 
cretion as to the disposition of their prizes; either to de- 
stroy tliem, or to send lliem into port; and every vessel thu8> 
destroyed, was [laid for by act of Congi-ess. My beloved hus- 
band, amidst diliiculties which the caplois of all the other fri- 
gates deemed insurmountable, succeeded in conducting the Ma- 
cedonian more tlian half way aci-oss the Atlantic, and got 
her safely into port; aiid he believed he could have been ecjually 
successful with the Philadelphia, if he had been permitted to 
make the experiment- But Commodore Preble, who was the 
representative of tiie Government, thought it more for the in- 
terest of the nation, tliat slie should be destroyed on the spot, 
than to risk even the j)ossibiIity ot her falling again into the 
hands of the enemy: who would thereby have been induced to 
increase their extravagant demand for the ransom of Captain 
Bainbridge and his crew, and have protracted the expenses of 
the war greatly beyond the value of tiie frigate. But he had 
no idea that he was depriving his little band of heroes of the 
fruit of their des])erate valour; or tliat the nation could hesi- 
tate a single moment, under such circumstances, to pay them 
the full value of their prize — of whicii lie declared he would not 
touch a dollar — they deserved it all ! ! * 

1 hope you will have the goodness to revert to the state of 
youi' affairs with Tripoli at tiiat period. 

She was in possession of one of your largest and finest 

fi-igates, with upwards of three hujidred of your most valu- 

*A.s Mrs. Preble has pelilioned for the protvi-tion of thr- rommank-r of 



able seamen and officers; while your own Force; so far from 
being able to make any impression, was deemed inadequate 
to the protection of your commerce. It is therefore evident, 
that had it not been for the recapture of the Philadelphia, 
the government must have incurred the expense of fitting out 
a much larger squadron, or they must have acceded to the 
Bashaw's exorbitant demand of two hundred thousand dol- 
lars, and all his expenses for the war; for, to have left so 
many of your fellow-citizens in slavery, was, I presume, a 
thing entirely out of question. 

I hope you will also recollect, that the recapture of the 
Philadelphia was not an event in the ordinary routine of duty: 
but that it was an enterprise of such a daring natiiie, that the 
Government would never have ordered it to be attempted; 
that it was a forlorn hope! planned and suggested by my gal- 
lant husband, with a view to frighten those barbarians into 
terms; and thereby to release his fellow-citizens, who had been 
languishing nearly two years in slavery, and the Government 
had not succeeded, either by negotiation or arms, in effecting 
their liberation. And I will beg leave further to remind you, 
that the same gallant spirit, by his influ.nce and example, led 
his brave companions through tlie perilous enterprise; and 
that he also planned and executed the attack upon the Tripoli- 
tan gun-boats; a service from which his rank exempted him, 
and which promised nothing but the glory of his conntrij. — 
There was no hope of promotion, for he had attained the high- 
est grade in the JS'^avij. There was no prospect of pecuniary 
pi'ojit, because the vessels to be attacked were known to be of 
little or no value. They were merely batteries. 

I ought to offer some apology for troubling you with this 
detail; but I know it is that jjartof my beloved husband's pub- 
lic life, upon which he prided himself most, and I am anx- 
ious that his country should understand and appreciate it as 
he himself did. 

The order of Commodore Preble for the destruction of the 
frigate was given several hundred miles distant from the scene 
of action: and founded on such information as he could ob- 
tain of the state of things in an enemy's port; and still more 
upon nfrm conviction that there could not be survivors enough, 
after such a conjlict, to ensure the safe navigation of the ship 
out of the reach of the enemy; and that she might possibly fall 
again into their'hands: and as the main object was to deprive 
them of her, he thought it most prudent to secure that as 
speedily as possible. But the event proved that there was 
not a fife lost on our side, nor an individual rendered unfit 
for duty. There was no attempt whatever, made by the Tri- 
politans to recover the ship. Thv. captors kept possession of 
her some time after the victory, believing they could make a more 



effectual resistance from the ship than from the ketch. There 
was no vessel in the harbour of sufficient force to pursue^ the fri- 
gate, whereas there were several vastly superior to the ketch; 
but such was the terror, that they did not attempt to follow her. 

When this gallant enterprise was achieved, the Navy, un- 
fortunately, had not obtained the confidence of the nation; and 
my beloved husband had its prosperity too much at heart, to 
permit him to press any subject that might tend to render it 
more unpopular. He therefore determined to await a more 
auspicious moment: and during the war with England, when 
a more favourable sentiment had been inspired, he thought it 
unpatriotic and unofficer-like, to bring forward pecuniary de- 
mands, w^hen he knew the difficulty the Government had in 
raising sufficient funds to prosecute the war; and while he him- 
self was daily using his own personal credit and influence, to 
obtain the necessary supplies for the force under his command. 
Immediately after the peace with England, he was ordered to 
the Mediterranean^ and on his return from thence, he w as ap- 
pointed to the Navy Board, and he then thought there would 
be an indelicacy in bringing forward a claim in which he was 
so particularly concerned, while he was in daily habits of in- 
timacy with the Members of Congress — that its success might, 
in that case, be ascribed to personal influence; whereas he 
w ished it to stand exclusively upon its own merits. Since the 
claim devolved upon me, I had not, until within the last eigh- 
teen months, recovered sufficient energy of mind to attend to 
my pecuniary interests — and these are the causes why it has 
been so long delayed. It belongs almost exclusively to wi- 
dows, orphans, and aged seamen, for whom the law makes no 
provision. There are at least twenty orphans, (five of whom 
have been recently added to the list, by the death of the gal- 
lant M'Donough) children of the brave officers who achieved 
this victory; who without it, will be left to grow up in igno- 
rance and obscurity; and perhaps with feelings of disgust at 
the injustice of their country, in refusing them the means of 
becoming useful and distinguished citizens, and of perpetua- 
ting the laurels which their fathers so bravely won. I think 
I may venture to assert that the heroism of this achievement 
laid the corner stone of our naval glory: and has moreover 
saved to the nation many millions of dollars, that must other- 
wise have been sacrificed to the rapacity of the Barbary pow- 
ers. 

I beg leave to subjoin a copy of a note from Com. Jones, 
Navy Commissioner, who was a prisoner in Tripoli when the 
Philadelphia was recaptured. 

I remain, my dear Sir, very respectfully yours, 

S. DECATUR. 



Washington, Dec. 8, 1825. 

Dear Madam: In reply to your note of yesterday, T have the 
pleasure to say, that I know of nothing which could have rendered 
it impracticable to ttie captors to have taken the Pliiladelphia out 
of the harbour of Tripoli. The water was sufficient, and I believe 
the wind loas favourable; consequently, nothing but the want of 
skill in the pilot who was with them, was likely to have prevented 
such a result, if it had been attempted. The brig Syren, which 
lay off'the harbour, would have been sufficient to have protected her 
the moment that she had cleared the port. I am respectfully yours, 

JA'B. JONES. 

Mrs. Decatur. 



Certificate of Salvadore Catalano. 

The subscriber certifies, that he was attached to the American 
Squadron in the Mediterranean, as pilot on board of the frigate 
Constitution, commanded by Commodore Preble; that he was sent 
in the ketch Intrepid, to pilot her into the harbour of Tripoli, for 
the purpose of destroying the frigate Philadelphia, then in posses- 
sion of the. Tripolitans; that owing to his perfect acquaintance with 
the harbour of Tripoli, and his personal knowledge of the people 
and their language, the ketch was permitted to come alongside of 
the Philadelphia; that he is, and always was, of opinion, that in 
the state of the wind at the time, and his knowledge of the current 
and the soundings of the harbour, that the ship rnight have been 
brought out with safety, had not orders been peremptorily given to de- 
stroy her; that he gave this opinion to Commodore Decatur, on board 
the Philadelphia, at the moment of her capture, who was only prevent- 
ed by his orders from making the attempt; — that all the nautical men 
with whom he has conversed on the subject, and to vvhom he has 
explained the grounds of his opinion, have acknowledged the cor- 
rectness of his statements. 

SALVADORE CATALANO. 

Navy Yard, Washington, Dec. 19, 18-25. 



My Dear Madam: I cannot, with any precision, state the dis- 
tance that the frigate Philadelphia was from the entrance of the 
harbour, at the time she was set tire to, as our situation did not ad- 
mit our seeing her and the whole of the harbour at the same time; 
but as the entire length of the harbour is about three or four miles, 
I am of the opinion that she must have been from two to two and a 
half miles from the entrance. Respectfully yours, 

JACOB JONES. 

Mrr. Decatur. 



(CIRCULAR.) 

GeokgetoWxV, Dec. 1st, 1826. 

Dear Sir: I cannot help fearing that, in the interval which 
has elapsed since the adjoiirnnient of Congress, the merits of 
my claim may have escai)e(l from your memory, and my doc- 
uments IVom your hands; and I therefore again beg leave to 
draw your attention to them. I have, during the recess, col- 
lected' some further testimony, which was called for at the last 
session, and which, I trust, will be found to corroborate that 
which had been previously laid before you. 

It was asserted, during the discussion of the claim, to be 
"highly improbable that the sliip could have been taken out 
of the harbour, the wind being aliead;" in answer to which, I 
beg leave to point out the w?i7ues//ona&/e fact, that the wind 
w^as so far favourable as to enable the ketch to clear the liar- 
bour in a very short time, and without any material injury; 
and I will also refer you to the public histories of the transac- 
tion, (which I shall subjoin) published many years ago, when 
the historians could have had no motive for misrepresenting 
the state of the wind, for they could not have supposed that ei- 
ther national or individual glory had been obtained from "sail- 
ing triumphantly out of the harbour with ^favouring breeze." 
It was moreover the opinion of my husband, that he could have 
towed the ship out (the distance being only two miles) if the 
wind had been adverse; that her guns, which were all loaded, 
would have protected the ketch while engaged in that opera- 
tion; that it being dark, they had nothing to apprehend from 
the batteries, and that it was the iiames of the frigate that ex- 
posed them to the view of the enemy, and greatly increased 
the peril of the enterprise. The opinion of Com. Jones, who 
was in Tripoli at the time, and the certificate of the pilot of 
the expedition, I submitted to you on a former occasion. 

There were some other objections raised against the claim, 
which I think would be obviated by a careful perusal of Com- 
modore Preble's orders; they were not to set fire to the ship 
with congreve rockets, nor with matches clandestinely applied; 
nor by any stratagem that did not imply previous victory, 
and actual possession — but his first order was to "board," — 
which in technical language means, to fight in the most des- 
perate manner — and to "carry all by the sword;" and so soon 
as that was accomplished, the prize was, under the existing 
law, the property of the captors; and if they had been permit- 
ted to take her to the squadron, the existing law would have 
secured to them all the benefits. That she was not so dispo- 
sed of, was owing wholly to the imperative order of the com- 
mander in chief, who thought it more prudent to have her dif- 



10 

ferently disposed of; but he had no idea that his order to burn 
could affect in any degree the rights of the ca])tors; and he was 
so mortified to find the ship was not promj)tly paid for, that 
he offered to divide his fortune with my husband, whose judg- 
ment and wishes he l)ad opposed. 

And now let me ask you, my dear Sir, whether it would be 
worthy of a great and high-minded nation like this, to avail 
herself of a trifling informalitij in the law, (caused by her own 
agent) to evade a just debt — I might almost say, to "defraud 
the fatherless children and widow, and those who have none 
to help tliem" — and in a case too where you have actually re- 
ceived value more than an hundred fold? — for the ransom alone 
of the crew of the Philadelphia, at the ordinary price you were 
then paying for your seamen, (*o,0{)0 dollars j)erhead — and 
they would probably liave charged much more for officers) 
would have amounted to more than nine hundred thousand dol- 
lars; to which you may add the two hundred thousand which 
you Vv'crc annually compelled to pay in tribute and pi-esents; 
and moreover, the continual drafts that wei'e made upon the 
Treasury for the ransom of your seamen, who were daily fall- 
ing into the hands of those barbarians, and exposed to all sorts 
of cruelty and hardsiiijjs; and also the property, amounting to 
upwards of two hundred tlsousand dollars, which my husband 
recovei'cd from them during his last cruize, and which your 
government considered so hopeless that they did not even au- 
thorise him to ask for it; — and if the Philadelphia had remain- 
ed in the possession of the enemy, you must have fitted out a 
much larger squadron, for they were then supei-ior to you, 
and looked upon you with contempt and ridicule — so much so, 
as to offer to sell you a peace for a million of dollars, M'hich you 
may see by I'efei-ring to tiie files of the Navy Department— 
And when you recollect all these benefits, which you have ac- 
tually received, — to say nothing of tiie national character ob- 
tained — I am sure you will not wish to evade a debt due upon 
every jirinciple of equity, of generosity, and of public gratitude. 
Let it not be said that a nation which has been nobly generous, 
can take shelter under the letter of the law, to be unjust.f 

* See President Washington's message to Congress on the 8th May, 
1792, requesting an appropriation of forty thousand dollars, for the ran- 
som of thirteen American captives — which was granted. 

f Extract from the Presidents message to Congress, December 5th, 1803. — 
"I recommend to the consideration of Congress, a just indemnification for 
the interests of the captors of the Mishouda, and Meshboha, yielded by 
them for the public accommodation." 

Congress, by act of 19th March, 1804, appropriated one moiety of their 
value, to be distributed among the captors; that being tlie proportion to 
which, under existing laws, they would have been entitled, if the vessels 
had been adjudicated and condemned as lawful prizes. See Goldsbo- 
rough's Naval Chronicle, page 216. 
The captor-s of the Algcrine frigate and corvette, (captured during the late 



11 

I understood that some members of the House of Represen- 
tatives ])roposcd to place this claim upon the same footing as 
the Gucrrierc and the Java — prizes made in the ordinary rou- 
tine of duty, with a superior force on our part; and which 
were destroyed at the discretion of the captors! But I do 
hope that no one upon reflection, could seriously wish so to doj 
for the recapture of the Philadelphia has hitherto stood unparal- 
leled in the annals of your navy; and although the money is of 
vital importance to all tlie parties concerned, yet we would all 
greatly prefer that the nation should continue to enjoy all the 
benefits, gratis, than to have the heroism of the enterprise de- 
preciated merely to avoid paying for it! 

Congress did not hesitate to pay the full value of the sloop 
of war Hermes,* which was blown up in consequence of an- 
choring within musket-shot of oneof your garrisons, and with- 
out any circumstance of particular danger or enterprise on 
the part of her destroyers; and would you do less in the case 
of a forlorn hope, voluntarily undertaken to relieve your citi- 
zens from slavery and despair, and your Government from the 
humiliation of being baffled, as it had been nearly two years, 
and in the eyes of all Europe, by a petty barbarous foe? The 
value of the ship at that period, was 8300,000, which may be 
ascertained by a reference to the Navy Department. 

The frigate recently purchased in New York by the Gov- 
ernment was valued at two hundred and thirty-five thousand 
dollars, exclusive of her armament and stores. 

There was also some difficulty stai'ted as to the proper divis- 
ion of the amount. It was my husband's opinion that the general 
law for the distribution of prize money could not he. fairly ap- 
plied in this case; because that law was founded upon the pre- 
sumption that the commander acts with his full crew;f and ne- 

war with Algiers, and presented to the Dey after the peace) were also in- 
demnified by act of Congress, to the full value of tlieir interests in those 
vessels. The British sloop of war Hermes, which was blown up during the 
war with England, was also paid for (full value) by act of Congress, March, 
1816. Claims to an immense amount were paid under the Florida treaty, 
in cases where there had been no adjudication of the property claimed. 

* Extract of a letter from Major General Andrew Jackson, to the Honor- 
able Secretary of War, dated Mobile, September 17th, 1814. 

"I have learnt that the ship which was destroyed was the Hermes, of 28 
guns. Captain, the Honourable William H. I'ercy, senior officer in the Gulf 
of Mexico. 

"Permit me to suggest the propriety and justice of allowing* to this gal- 
lant band, the value of the vessel destroyed by them." 

N. B. This ship was promptly paid for by act of Congress; forty thousand 
dollars, her full value. 

I The Intrepid was not a regular vessel of war, with an organized crew, 
but a small coasting vessel of sixty tons, used on this occasion merely as a 
transport, to convey my husband and his littlfr^iand to and from the scene 
of .lotion. 



12 

ver contemplated a case w here he should take a mere handfull 
of them, and capture a frigate of the largest class; — and he 
thought that the sum voted ought to he divided in the same pro- 
portions to each individual concerned, according to his grade, 
as prevailed in the cases of the Guerriere, Macedonian, and 
Java — those heing tiie only ships of the same class of the Phil- 
adelphia, tliat have ever been captured by our naval forces. 
And I jnxsumc that no person can think that he who planned, 
suggested, and executed this perilous exploit, had less merit 
than those commanders (he himself being one of them) who 
only met the enemy on the high seas, in the ordinary routine 
of duty, with more than equal force, and who would have been 
disgraced had they avoided a contest; — and more especially, 
when it is recollected, that had it not been for this enterprise, 
you would, in all human probability, have been at this day, as 
you then were, subjected to tlie humiliation of paying an enor- 
mous annual tribute! And whatever proportion of this claim 
my husband was entitled to, you are bouiul to give me. He 
bequeathed to me all liis rights, and you cannot divert any 
portion of them from me, to give to others — however more de- 
serving, without derogating from the character of his public 
services: they were as great, in comparison with those who 
• served under him, as those of any other commander; — and if 
you were to pass a law^ awarding to him a smaller relative 
proportion of the amount, it would be a vote of censure, in- 
stead of approbation; and I cannot help thinking, that that 
would bo a most ungrateful return for a whole life devoted to 
the glory of his country, and fanally sacrificed for what he con- 
sidered the best interests of the navy. He never had the 
slightest personal difference with jiis adversary; but he did con- 
scientiously believe that he had disgraced the flag — and that 
he would do so again in the hour of trial; and that it would be 
ruinous to the navy to have him reinstated over the heads of 
those who had borne the heat and bui-then of the war. In sup- 
port of this opinion he sflcri/jcefZ his life; and it was as much 
an act of devoted patriotism, as anyone that marked his dis- 
tinguished career.* 

It was also asked whether the Syren ought not to partici- 
pate? My husband thought not. The general law for the 

• There is anotlier reason why I should not be deprived of any part of my 
husband's rights: I am the only individual of my unfortunate class who does 
not receive a pension; and, moreover, my liushand sacrificed many thousand 
dollars of his own funds, in supporting- the character of his country abroad, 
which those associated with me in this claim have not been called upon to 
do. The commanding- oflicer of a squadron in a foreign country, is viewed 
as the representative of his nation; and he must dt-aw largely upon his own 
resources, or practice such a degree of economy as would make his country 
appear ridiculous; and my husband was never known to hesitate a single 
moment between his pecnniarv interest and the honour of his countr}'. 



13 

distribution of prize money, decides that all vessels in sight 
shall participate; because their presence serves to overawe the 
enemy, and influences a surrender. But in this case the ene- 
my was wholly unapprised of the attack, and unconscious 
that the Syren was in their vicinity; and she did not succeed 
in rendering any assistance whatever. 

It has been intimated that some portion of the jjeamiary 
compensation might be deducted in consequence of the honora- 
rij rewards bestowed upon him. But that has never yet been 
done in a single instance since the establishment of the navy; 
and I hope I shall be excused for thinking that this is not a 
case on which to form a precedent derogatoi-y to tiie comman- 
der. Captain Charles Morris was promoted from a Lieuten- 
ant to a Post Captain, (altiiough the grade of Master Com- 
mandant was then established, which was not the case at the 
period of my husband's promotion,) for being First Lieuten- 
ant on board the Constitution vvhcn she captured the Guer- 
riere; and yet it was never suggested that he ought to be de- 
prived of a single cent of his prize money in consequence of 
the honorary rewai'd. 

It was also asserted, that if there had been any ground for 
the claim, it would not have been suffered to sleep so long. 
My husband's motives for ])ostponing the application, I stated 
in a letter which I took the liberty to address to you last ses- 
sion, a copy of which I shall subjoin, with a note upon the 
same subject, from the Hon. Littleton W. Tazewell. 

As I cannot have the advantage of explaining to you in per- 
son, as other claimants have, tlie merits of my claim, I hope 
you will do me the favour to read with attention, ull the doc- 
uments; and in that case, I am sure you will be fully convin- 
ced of its justice — for I do know that my beloved husband 
never, in the whole course of his life, set up a pretension, ei- 
ther public or private, that did not ultimately prove to be 
founded in justice. 

I remain, very respectfully, vours, 

S'. DECATUR. 



DOCUMENTS. 



Extract of a letter from the Hon. Littleton W. Tazewell. 

My dear Mrs. Decatur: In reply to your letter of the 22d ult. 
(which, owing, I presume, to some accident, has just been receiv- 
ed,) I will state to you, that during the lifetime of your late hus- 
band, I had many conversations with him, upon the subject of his 
claim upon tiie Government of the U. S. for the capture and des- 
truction of the frigate Philadelphia. The first of these conversa- 
tions took place, I think, in 1806. soon after he established himself 
in this place. In this, his object was to consult me professionally 
as to the validity of his claim, and as to the proper course to be 
adopted to obtain the payment of the amount, should I think the 
claim just. I then investigated the subject very maturely, and gave 
him a long written opinion upon it, in which I stated the reasons 
that induced me to consider it, not only a fair claim upon this Gov- 
ernment, but one which it was his duty to prefer, as the guardian 
and protector of the officers and people who were associated with 
him in this daring and honourable enterprise. 

Of one thing I am very certain, that during the whole course of 
his life, Con»modore Decatur was firmly and fully persuaded, that 
he, his officers and crew, had a just claim upon the U. S. for the 
value of the frigate Philadelphia, which they had captured and 
burnt by the express order of their commanding officer. 
I am, very respectfully and sincerely, yours, 

LITT'N. W. TAZEWELL. 

Norfolk, Sept. 7th, 1826. 



A letter from Dr. Ridgley, Surgeon of the Frigate Philadelphia. 

Annapolis, Nov. 10, 1826. 

Madam: Your letter of the 2d inst. has just been received, and 
1 hasten to reply to it. I have a distinct — an indelible recollec- 
tion of the leading events of our imprisonment. The Pacha and his 
court did not attempt to conceal their exultation on the capture of 
the frigate Philadelphia. It was a jubilee in Tripoli. So extrav- 
agant were his calculations, that he would not listen to any proposal 
of peace and ransom, for a less sum than one million of dollars. In 
this condition of affiiirs, it would have been impolitic to have open- 
ed a negotiation. It would have been regarded as an evidence of 
fear and imbecility. This tone of confidence and triumph contin- 
ued until the daring enterprise led on by ycur gallant and lamented 
husband, illuminated his castle with the blaze of his trophy. The 



15 

sensation produced by the achievement was indescribable — con- 
sternation and dismay were depicted on every face. But the best 
evidence of its impression, was the frequent conferences of the 
Pacha with the Consuls, his undisguised desire to make peace, and 
his proposition to that eftect, on terms much more moderate — I 
think $^200,000. The terror inspired by the recapture and con- 
flagration, (increased by the attack of the gun-boats, on the 3d of 
August, 1804,) was felt during the war, and its influence was ac- 
knowledged when the treaty of peace was signed. 

It may not be known to you, Madam, that I was appointed to 
the Consulship of Tripoli after the war, and obtained this and oth- 
er information from one of the European Consuls, with whom the 
Pacha often conferred during our captivity, and to whom he con- 
fided his difficulties and danger. 

Description can convey but an inadequate idea of tiie horrors of 
our imprisonment. We were confined in a dungeon in the centre 
of the castle, into which no air or light could find access, but 
through a small iron grate in the terrace or ceiling. To privation 
of pure air, wholesome food, &c. was added the annoyance of nox- 
ious reptiles. The desperation of the officers may be inferred 
from two attempts to escape — one by undermining, and the other 
by passing over the walls of the castle. An account of these en- 
terprises and their failure, may be found in the biography of Com. 
Porter, published some years since, (1815, I think,) in the Ana- 
lectic Magazine and Naval Chronicle. 

When any communication between the squadron and the castle 
was announced, joy and gladness were diffused through our gloomy 
cells, and reiterated (lisaj)pointnient could not dispel the cherished 
hope that the happy hour of emancipation had arrived. Even at 
this distant period, the heart sickens at the recollection of "hope 
long deferred." 

That a generous legislature may grant this just claim, is the con- 
fident belief of one who knew and appreciated the high-minded 
and chivalric officer on whose services it is founded. 

I am. Madam, with sentiments of the highest respect and con- 
sideration, your obedient servant, 

JOHN RIDGELY. 



Statement of M. M. Noah, late United States' Consul at Tripoli. 

The memorial of Mrs. Decatur to Congress, praying for herself 
and the captors of the Philadelphia frigate, that the value of said fri- 
gate may be paid, has excited considerable surprise in the country. 
It was not for a moment supposed, that amidst the gratuities, pen- 
sions, and appropriations for services rendered during the revolu- 
tionary and late wars, that a debt of so hig'i and important char- 
acter was still unpaid by the nation. There appears, however, to 
be but one voice on the subject, viz: that the same justice and lib- 
erality which have been awarded to others, should in this case can- 
cel a claim which has slept too long. 



16 

The Mediterranean was the cradle of the American navy. Its 
character and discipline — its subsequent success in war — its influ- 
ence in peace — and its present high character throughout the 
world, iiave their origin in the wars declared against the several 
powe.s OB the Barbary coastj and in that school of fierce conten- 
tion and ultimate glory were the Hulls, Bainbridges, and Deca- 
turs — the Perrys, Lawrences, McDonoughs, Joneses, and the gal- 
axy of naval heroes, taught to fight and conquer. It is not, there- 
fore, surpiising that the nation should be anxiously alive to the 
discussion of any claim arising from services rendered in that re- 
mote quarter of the world. 

Having passed some time on the Barbary coast in the publie ser- 
vice, it became necessary to make myself familiar with the rela- 
tions between the United States and those regencies, not only from 
their commencement, but to trace their history, the treaties, trib- 
utes, and diplomatic intercourse, as well as the wars, which finally 
established the independence of our flag on the coast of Africa. 

Our difficulties first commenced with Tripoli — with the Pacha 
ofwhich kingdom, as well as the other states, we had some indefi- 
nite arrangements; and for sometime prior to the appearance of a 
naval force in the Mediterranean, our merchant vessels and sea- 
men were protected by the British, Swedish, and such friendly 
powers, who had for many years treaties with the Barbary states — 
aided by occasional donations and tributes, which were considered 
advisable in preference to war, at a period when the naval force of 
the country was too limited for a hazardous experiment, and when 
the formidable strength and atrocious piracies of the Barbary cor- 
sairs paralvzed tlie efforts of the Christian powers. 

As the commerce of the United States increased in the Mediter- 
ranean, the friendly interference of European powers in our behalf 
was considerably diminished, and it is not uncharitable to believe, 
that commercial rivalry first suggested to the Pacha of Tripoli to 
demand a considerable and perpetual tribute, or give us the alter- 
native of war — either of which was not at that period desirable. 

The capture of several of our vessels, and the consequent slave- 
ry of our citizens, roused the people to a sense of their wrongs, 
and war was formally declared against the Pacha of Tripoli; and 
our disposable force was sent to the Mediterranean, with all the 
young officers, including Decatur, who have subsequently perpet- 
uated the glory and triumphs of the American flag. 

This war with Tripoli was of vital importance to a nation hav- 
ing an infant navy, and desirous of establishing a name and a char- 
acter among the governments of the earth. It was not simply to 
chastise an African pirate and abolish tribute — it was to secure for- 
ever to the American flag that freedom which it claimed, and to 
which it was every where pre-eminently entitled. 

The nation, therefore, in tracing the triumphs, the discipline, 
and high character of the American navy to the war with Tripoli, 
cannot avoid being grateful to all who distinguished themselves in 
that memorable contest, and to rewaril with honour and profit those 
who acliievcd important victories. 

The war at its commencement, and for two years, dragged heav- 



17 

ily, without any of those animating results which the people fondly 
anticipated — it was a dull routine of blockade, costly, unpropitious 
and discouraging — occasional proofs of valour and seamanship were 
discernible — ^jealousies and bickerings broke out among senior offi- 
cers, who, far removed from their government, were compelled to 
exercise discretionary powers— the expense of the war was not 
unfelt, and taking the unpromising state of things into considera- 
tion, the Government of the United States did contemplate at one 
period proposing such terms of peace and payment of a small trib- 
ute, which several of the European powers then complied with — 
and the unfortunate capture of the Philadelphia frigate, and long 
captivity of her officers and crew, did not tend to inspirit the na- 
tion to a further and more active prosecution of the war. The cir- 
cumstances attending the capture of that vessel, are well known. 

The Philadelphia frigate, commanded by Captain Bainbridge, 
in sailing close to the town, struck on a rock, and became station- 
ary, under the powerful batteries of the citadel, A brisk fire be- 
tween each was sustained for several hours, until the tide falling, 
the ship settled, and her gunwales were under water, and the Cap- 
tain, officers, and three hundred men, became prisoners of war. — 
The Tripolitans took possession of the ship, warped her at high tide 
from the rocks, moored her under the castles, with the crescent 
waving over the star-spangled banner, while the crew were carried 
captives to the dungeons, to undergo the most painful suffering. 

It was at this juncture, when the sliip was in possession of the 
eneni}', and under the protection of several hundred pieces of ord- 
nance frowning from the battlements, that Decatur and a handful 
of brave men, in a little xebeque, disguised as fishermen, fastened 
themselves to the frigate, sprang on board, and after a fierce and 
bloody encounter with the '•'malignant and turban'd Turk," on the 
quarter-deck, carried her at all points, drove the Turks into the 
sea, tore down the crimson llag, fired her in several parts, and 
took to their little fishing-smack and sailed off triumphantly, re- 
garding at a distance the sublime spectacle of the crackling flames 
illuminating the crescents of the mosques, and the turrets of the 
castles — the blaze of artillery from the embrazures — the blowing up 
of the ship — the shrieks of the dying, and the imprecations of the 
Turkish soldiery together, "making night hideous." 

It has been said that Decatur, after recapturing the frigate, 
could not have brought her out; and in reply to that charge, it is 
said that his orders were positive to burn her. Burning her to the 
water's edge, was calculated to make a more deep and appalling 
impression upon the Mussulmcn than merely carrying away the 
ship; and this spirited act of Decatur's, while it reflected the high- 
est honour on his courage, was loudly applauded throughout Eu- 
rope, and infused new hopes in the nation, while it created on the 
part of the Pacha, a higher respect for our national capacities and 
resources, and compelled him to propose terms of peace. 

The results of this extraordinary attempt were of incalculable ad- 
vantage to the nation; they led to an honourable peace; to the abol- 
ishment of tribute; to the liberation of the suffering captives; to fu- 
ture peace and honour; to a gallant, ambitious spirit in the navy; to 



18 

ail increasing popularity in that branch of our defence; tea strict 
discipline — and all of which were productive of future and perma- 
nent glory in the war with the greatest naval power of the world. 
These consequences go far to strengthen a claim which is in itself 
unquestionable, and would be recognized by all well organized 
and just governments. 

The war with Algiers in 1815 was declared upon the same prin- 
ciple, and prosecuted with the same views as the former one with 
Tripoli; but the Algerines were a much more formidable power, 
possessing a stronger navy, and fortifications almost impregnable; 
of a high, audacious, and unsubduable spirit. The command of the 
squadron was given to Decatur, from the settled conviction that 
his name was more familiar to the Barbary states, in consequence 
of his exploits before Tripoli, and in this idea the Government 
was not mistaken. I was in that neighbourhood during the Alge- 
rine war, and it is a fact unparalleled inhistory, and almost incon- 
ceivable in the annals of warfare, that \n fifty days after the squad- 
ron sailed from Sandy Hook, a treaty of peace was signed between 
Algiers and tiie U. States, which included indemnification for the 
past and security for the future. In that short space of time Decatur 
had arrived in the Mediterranean, fought and captured a frigate, 
and some small vessels — killed the Algerine Admiral — sailed into 
the harbour of Algiers, and ratified the treaty at the cannon' smoidh. 

It was not expected that our differences with Algiers would ter- 
minate without delay, bloodshed, and cost — the nation was deter- 
mined to abolish tribute and punish the Barbarians at every sacri- 
fice — but the name of Decatur, the promptness of his movements; 
and iiis success on the threshold of the contest, saved a large sum 
to the government, the loss probably of valuable lives, and secured 
additional honour and freedom to our flag. 

Here was the harvest of that fame and national honour which 
first sprang up at Tripoli. From Algiers, the squadron sailed for 
Tunis, where a gross infraction of the treaty had been committed, 
and nearly §50,000 ot American property had been cut out by the 
British. We were on the spot at the time, and perceived the ef- 
fect of the same influence. "Tell your Admiral to come ashore 
and see me," said the Bey. "He declines coming, your highness, 
until these disputes are settled, which are best done on board ship." 
"But this is not treating me with becoming dignity; Hamuda Pa- 
cha, of blessed memory, commanded them to land and wait at the 
palace until he pleased to receive them." Very likely, your high- 
ness, but that was twenty years ago." "I know this Admiral; he 
is the same one who, in the war with Sidi Yusef, of Trablis, 
burnt the frigate." "The same." "Hum! why do they send wild 
young men to treat for peace with old powers? Then you Ameri- 
cans don't speak truth — you went to war with England, a nation 
with a great fleet, and said you took their frigates in equal fight — 
an honest people always speak truth." "Well, Sir, and that was 
true. Do you see that tall ship in the bay, with a blue flag? (the 
Guerriere) that one was taken from the British; that one near the 
small island, (the Macedonian) was also captured on equal terms; 
that sloop near Cape Carthage, (the Peacock) was also taken in 



battle.'' The Bey laid clown the telescope, reposed on his cush- 
ions, and with a small tortoise-shell conilj, set with diamonds, 
combed his beard. 

A small vessel got under weigh, and came near the batteries; a 
pinnace with a few men rowed about the harbour, and one person, 
dressed in the garb of a sailor, icas taking soundiiigs — it iLms Deca- 
tur. "Tell the Admiral to land," said the Bey, "and all shall be 
settled to his satisfaction," which was done. 

From Tunis Decatur went into Tripoli with the squadron-, where 
difficulties had also arisen. These were soon and satisfactorily 
settled, and the old Pacha received in the most friendly manner, 
the commander of the squadron, who, when a young man, had de- 
stroyed his frigate, and bearded him under his very batteries. 

It is, however, unnecessary to recapitulate the naval triumphs 
of our flag in the Mediterranean — they are known, duly apprecia- 
ted, and are sources of great and honest pride — they have procu- 
red us indemnity for the past, and security for the future — and 
probably no oflicer has done more to bring about this desirable state 
of things than Commodore Decatur. 

Whilst these facts are every where admitted, and whilst the 
nation is disposed to pay the debt of gratitude due to a deceased 
gallant officer, the question at present relates to indemnity for de- 
stroying the Philadelphia frigate. 

I am not apprised of the nature of the objections to the claim, if 
any objections are made. I can only say, that the nation has de- 
rived a greater benefit from the destruction of the Philadelphia fri- 
gate, than from the possession of the frigate itself. She had been 
captured, and was in possession of the enemy, and was recaptured 
and destroyed — the claim is therefore legal and equitable, and lo- 
ses none of its force from its not having been heretofore liquidated. 
It is a claim that the nation recognises, and is bound in honor to 
pay, and one that the American people, I am persuaded, will feel a 
pleasure in adjusting to the satisfaction of the representative of 
Commodore Decatur, and the gallant crew who foughtf and con- 
quered under him. M. M. NOAH. 

New Yerk, November S, i8'26. 



United States' Frigate Constitution,) 
, Syracuse Harbour, Jan. 31, 1804. 5 

Sir: You are hereby ordered to take command of the prize 
ketch, which I have named the Intrepid, and prepare her with all 
possible despatch for a cruise of thirty days, with full allosvanceof 
water, provision, &c. for seventy-five men. I shall send you five 
midshipmen from the Constitution, and you will take seventy men, 
including officers, from the Enterprise, if that number can be found 
ready to volunteer their services for boarding and burning the 
Philadelphia in the harbour of Tripoli,' if not, report to me, and I 
will furnish you with men to complete your complement. It is 
expected you will be ready to sail to-morrow evening, or some 
iiours sooner, if the signal is made for that purpose. 



20 

It is my orders that you proceed to Tripoli, in company with the 
Syren, lieutenant Stewart, enter that harbour in the night, board 
the Philadelphia, burn her, and make good your retreat, with the 
Intrepid, if possible, unless you can make her the means of de- 
stroying the enemy's vessels in the harbour, by converting her into 
a fire-ship, for that purpose, and retreating in your boats and those 
of the Syren. You must take fixed ammunition and apparatus, for 
the frigate's 18-pounders, and if you can, without risking too much, 
you may endeavour to make them the instruments of destruction to 
the shipping and Bashaw's castle. You will provide all the neces- 
sary combustibles for burning and destroying ships. The destruc- 
tion of the Philadelphia is an object of great importance, and I rely 
with confidence on your intrepidity and enterprise to effect it. — 
Lieutenant Stewart will support you with the boats of the Syren, 
and cover your retreat with that vessel. Be sure and set fire in 
the gun-room births, cockpit, store-rooms forward, and births on 
the birth-deck. 

After the ship is well on fire, point two of the 18-poi'.nders, 
shotted, down the main hatch, and blow her bottom out. I enclose 
you a memorandum of tlie articles, arms, ammunition, fire-works, 
&c. necessarj', and which you are to take with you. Return to 
this place as soon as possible, and report to me your proceedings. 
On boarding the frigate, it is probable you may meet with resist- 
ance — it will be well, in m-i\ev to prevent alarm, to carry all by the 
sword. Mav God prosper and succeed you in this enterprise. 
1 have the honour to be. Sir, your obedient serv't. 

EDWARD PREBLE. 

Lieut. Commandant Decatur, Intrepid. 

On board the ketch Intrepid, at Sea, > 
Februarv 17, 1804. C 

Sir: I have the honour to inform you, that in pursuance to your 
orders of the 31st ultimo, to proceed with this ketch oft' the harbour 
of Tripoli, there to endeavour to effect the destruction of the late 
U. States' frigate Philadelphia, I arrived there, in company with 
the United States' brig Syren, lieutenant commandant Stewart, on 
the 7th, but owing to the badness of the weather, was unable to ef- 
fect any thing unitil last evening, when we had a light breeze from 
the N. E. At 7 o'clock I entered the harbour with the Intrepid, 
the Syren having gained her station without the harbT)ur, in a situ- 
ation to support us in our retreat. At half past 9 o'clock, laid her 
alongside of the Philadelphia, boarded, and after a short contest, 
carried her. I immediately fired her in the store-rooms, gun-room, 
cockpit, and birth-deck, and remained on board until the flames 
had issued from the spar-deck, hatchways, and ports, and before I 
had got from alongside, the fire had communicated to the rigging 
and tops. Previous to our boarding, they had got their tompions 
out, and hailed several times, but not a gun fired. 

The noise occasioned by boarding and contending for possession, 
although no fire-arms were used, gave a general alarm on shore, 
and on board their cruisers, which lay about a cable and a half's 



•21 

length from us, and many boats filled with men, lay around, but 
from whom we received no annoyance. They commenced a fire 
on us from all their batteries on shore, but with*no other effect than 
one shot passing through our top-gallant sail. 

The frigate was moored within half gunshot of the Basliaw's cas- 
tle, and of their principal battery — two of their cruisers lav within 
two cables' length on the starboard quarter, and their gun-boats 
within half gunshot on the starboard bow. She had all her guns 
mounted and loaded, which, as they became hot, went oft". As she 
lay with her broadside to the town, I have no tloubt but some dam- 
age has been done by them. Before I got out of the harbour, her 
cables had burnt oft", and she drifted in under the castle, where she 
was consumed. I can form no judgment as to the number of men on 
board, but there were twenty killed. A large boat full got off, and 
many leapt into the sea. We have made one prisoner, and I fear 
from the number of bad wounds he has received he will not recov- 
er, although every assistance and comfort has been given him. 

I boarded with sixty men and officers, leaving a guard on board the 
ketch for her defence, and it is with the greatest pleasure I inform 
you, I had not a man killed in this affair, and but one slightly wound- 
ed. Every support that could be given I received from my officers, 
and as each of their conduct was higidy meritorious, I beg leave to 
enclose you a list of their names. Permit me also, Sir, to speak 
of the brave fellows I have the honour to command, whose coolness 
and intrepidity was such as I trust will ever characterise the Amer- 
ican tars. , ' 

it would be injustice in me, were I to pass over the important 
services rendered by Mr. Salvadore, the pilot, on whose good con- 
duct the success of the enterprise in the greatest degree depended. 
He gave me entire satisfiiction. I have the honour to be, Sir, &c. 

STEPHEN DECATUR. 
Com. Edward Pkebie, comiTianding U. S. Squadron in the Mediterranean. 



Extracts from Commodore Preble's Official Despatches. 

United States' Ship Constitution, > 

Syracuse Harbour, 19th of February, 1804. 5 

Sir: I have the honour to inform you that the United States' brig 
Syren, lieutenant commandant Stewart, and ketch Intrepid, of four 
guns, lieutenant commandant Decatur, arrived here last evening 
from a cruise. They left this port the 3d instant, with my orders 
to proceed to Tripoli, and burn the frigate, late United States' fri- 
gate Philadelphia, at anchor in that harbour. I was well informed 
that her situation was such as to render it impossible to bring her 
out, and her destruction being absolutely necessary to favour my 
intended operations against that cit}', I determined the attempt 
should be made. I enclose you copies of my orders on this occasion, 
which have been executed in the most gallant and officer-like man- 
ner by lieutenant commandant Decatur, assisted by the brave offi- 



cers and crew of the little ketch Intrepid, under his command. — - 
Their conduct in the performance of the dangerous service assij^n- 
ed them, cannot bt sufficiently estimated. It is beyond all praise. 
Had lieutenant Decatur delayed one half hour for the boats of the 
Syren to have joined him, he would have failed in the main object, 
as a gale commenced immediately after the frigate was on fire, and 
it was with difficulty the ketch was got out of the harbour. The 
Syren, owing to the lightness of the breeze in the evening, was 
obliged to anchor at a considerable distance from the city, which 
prevented her boats from rendering such assistance as they might 
have done, had they entered the harbour earlier. 

Lieutenant Stewart took the best position without the harbour to 
cover the retreat of the Intrepid, that the lightness of the breeze 
would admit of; his conduct thiough the expedition has been judi- 
cious and highly meritorious. But i'ew of the officers of the squad- 
ron could be gratified by sharing in the danger and honour of the 
enterprise. 

Injustice to them, I beg leave to observe, that they all offered 
to volunteer their services on the occasion, and I am confident, 
whenever an opportunity offers to distinguish themselves, that 
they will do honour to the service. I enclose you lieutenant com- 
mandants Stewart and Decatur's official communications, with the 
names of the officers on board the ketch. 

With the highest respect, I have the honour to be, Sir, your 
most obedient humble servant, 

EB)V ARD PREBLE. 
The crew of the Intrepid consisted of 
Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Jr., commander. 

C James Lawrence, 
Lieutenants < Joseph Bainbridge, 

( Jonathan Thorn. 
Surgeon Lewis Heormann. 
'Ralph Izard, 
John Rowe, 
Charles Morris, Jr., 
Midshipmen< Alexander Latti% O^W^S 
John Davis, 
Thomas M'Donough, 
[_Thoinas 0. Anderson, from the Syren. 
Pilot Salvator Catalano, and sixty-two men. 



The Philadelphia, at the time she was destroyed, was lying in 
the harbour of Tripoli, protected not only by her own guns, and a 
considerable number of Turks on board, but by a number of batte- 
ries on shore, gun-boats, gallies, &c. viz: 
Fort English, mounting ... - 7 guns. 

American, - - - - 7 

Palace. - - ... 10 

Between Palace and Molehead, - - - 14 

Molehead and Crown Battery, - - - 19 



23 

Fort Way, - - - - - " H 

Two small batteries, . . - - 9 

Malta battery, - - - - - 9 

Half-moon battery, . . - - 10 

West Diamond battery, - - - - 9 

Battery with arched embrazures, - - - 3 

Western battery, - - - • - 7 



Of heavy calibre, 115 guns. 
19 Gun-boats, 
2 Gallies, 

2 Schooners of 8 guns each, and one brig of 10 guns. All the 
batteiies and vessels were fully manned; the whole number of 
troops estimated at 25,000 Arabs, &c. The whole naval force of 
the United States, in the Mediterranean, at that period, was 1 fri- 
gate, 3 brigs, 3 schooners, 2 bombs, 6 gun-boats, manned by 1060 
men. Before the Philadelphia was taken by the Tripolitans, the 
demand of the Bashaw of Tripoli for peace, was 200,000 dollars, 
and the repayment of all his expenses during the war. Alter her 
destruction, he agreed to make peace on our terms, viz,: exchange 
of prisoners, man for man. and §60,000 for the surplus in his pos- 
session. The Bey of Tunis had frequently threatened war, but 
v/as deterred no doubt by the impression produced by the energy 
of our squadron. 

Commodore Preble to the Secretary of the 
Navy, February 3d, 1804, estimates the 
American captives in Tripoli, at - - 300 

The Tripolitan captives, - . . ^ 60 

Balance of prisoners in favour of Tripoli, 240 



Commodore Preble to J. L. Cathcart, February 19, 1S04. 

The Philadelphia was got off' the rocks without damage; all her 
guns were taken out to tioat her close in with the Bashaw's Castle, 
v/ncn-e she was moored; her guns were then put on board, and the 
ship and her batteries got in fine order. Her guns were kept load- 
ed, tompions out, and a strong guard constantly on board. 



Sidi Mahammed Dghies, Minister at Tripoli, to Captain William 
Bainbridge, 5th March, 1604. 

In the actual state of things, and above all, on account of the 
anger of his excellency the Bashaw, who has rendered himself in- 
accessible, you must know. Captain, that I cannot undertake to 
charge myself with another negotiation [to obtain the benefit of 
fresh" air for Ca[)tain B. and officers, who were kept closely confi- 
ned after the burning of the Pliiladelphia.l 



24 

Colonel Lear to Commodore Preble, Algiers, 23d March, 1804. 

The burning of the Philadelphia is a circumstance which does 
honour to the head which planned, and the bold enterprise which 
executed it. I think it must be productive of good effects to our 
affairs in this sea. 

The loan of gun-boats, so essential in the operations before Tri- 
poli, of August and September, 1803, was not obtained till the 
13th of May, 1804. The destruction of the Philadelphia had its 
influence, no doubt, in obtaining the loan. 

It is understood that the Basliaw of Tripoli was anxious to dis- 
pose of the Philadelphia to some of the other Barbary powers in 
exchange for smaller fleet vessels, with which he might extensively 
annoy our trade in the Mediterranean, to the protection of which, 
our naval force in that sea would have been inadequate. This im- 
pending mischief was avoided by the destruction of the Philadelphia. 



Copy of a letter from Commodore Preble to the Secretary of the Navy. 

United States' Ship Constitution, ) 

Syracuse Harbour, 19th of February, 1804. 3 

Sir: Lieutenant Decatur is an officer of too much value to be 
neglected. The important service he has rendered, of destroying 
an enemy's frigate of forty guns, and the gallant manner in which 
he performed it, in a small vessel oT only sixty tons and four guns, 
under the enemy's batteries, surrounded by their corsairs and arm- 
ed boats, the crews of which stood appalled at his intrepidity and 
daring, would, in any navy in Europe, insure him instantaneous 
promotion to the rank of Post Captain. I wish, as a stimulus, it 
would be done in this instance — it would, eventually, be of real 
service to our Navy. 1 beg most earnestly to recommend him to 
the President, that he may be rewarded according to his merit. 

EDWARD PREBLE. 



Letter from Com. Rodgers, President of the Navy Board, relative to 
the distribution. 

Washington, Nov. 15th, 1827. 

Dear Madam: I have received your communication of the 9th 
inst. wherein you request my opinion in regard to the provisions 
contained in the bill reported by the Naval Committee during the 
last session of Congress, to compensate yourself, as the widow 
and representative of Captain Stephen Decatur, and the officers 
and crew of the United States' ketch Intrepid, for the capture and 
destruction of the Tripolitan frigate, late the United States' frigate 
Philadelphia. 

With respectful deference for the opinions of the honourable 
gentlemen who reported that bill, as well as for the opinions of oth- 



er gentlemen vvho have expressed to you their views upon the same 
subject, I would t.ike the libeify to suggest a principle oi" distribu- 
tion which to my mind would have been equally equitiibl(% and at 
the sau)e time more likely, I conceive, to have nift the views and 
wisht-s of the claimants gfnerally. The mode I would suggest is 
as follows: 

If the sum appropriated by Congress should be §100.000. I woulil 
recomuienti setting apart 85,000 as the proper sum lor remuniM-a- 
ting the ht-irs (d the conjinaiiding tdfici-r (d' the squadron; and then 
divide auHHig the officers and crew of tlie Intn'pid exclusively the 
renuining 895.000: apportioning to each class of the claimants ihe 
same relative share as thi-y would have been entitled to receive, had 
the actual number of officers and men on board the Intrepid at the 
time she destroyed the Philadelphia, been precisely the same as is 
known to have been on board that ship at the time of her capture 
by the Tripiditans. 

The enclose*! exhibit,* which corresponds in principle with the 
mode of distribution suggested, will show, in the division of any 
amount which miijht be awarded, the specific sum that each officer 
and seaman would be entitled to receive. With great respect and 
regard, I am, dear Madam, your obedient servant. 

Mrs. Susan Decatur. JOHN RODGERS. 

* The Exhibit accompanying ihe letter of Commodore Rogers, relative to the mode o-' 

distribution. 

Suppose Ccmgress were to appropriate the sum of $100,000, to 
reward the captors of the frigate Philadelphia, and to direct that 
the principle of distribution should be, 

1st. To allow to tile commanding <ifficer of the squadron the 
sum of $5,000 — one-twentieth of the whole sum. 

2d. To divide the residue among the officers and men, in the sanie 
relative propcntions which each would receive if the crew of the 
Intrepid had consisted ol the same number as that of the frigate 
Philadelphia at the time of her capture by the Tripolitans. 
Then the distribution would be, 

To the commantler of the squadron, 85.000 

To the commander of the ketch [ntrepid, 37.370 

To 2d class, S in number, each 85.019 331 15,058 

To 3d class, 1 " '' 3,587 i4 3,587 14 

To4thcla«s, 7 " " 2,584 94 18,094 58 

To 5th class, 
To 6lh class, 62, " ♦* 556 94 20,890 28 



g 100. 000 00 



Letter from Commodore Warrington, Navy Commissioner, relative to 
the distribution. 

Navy Coms.' Nov. 17. 1827. 
Dear Madam: I have had thf honour to receive your letter of 
yesterday, and its enclosure, which 1 herewith return. The distri- 

4 



bution, as stated in that paper, appears to be equitable; and will, 
1 pr< sunie, be satislactnry to those roncerned. With mv best 
wishi-s lor a surcesslul termination of the case, I am, witli very 
great respect, your obedient servant. 

L. WARRINGTON. 
Mrs. Susan Decatur. 



Letters from Commodore Stewart, relative to the recapture of the 
Philadelphia. 

BOHDENTOWN, (N. J.) Dec. 12, 1826. 

My DEAR Mrs. Decatur: The re-asseniblinj: of the honourable 
Corijiress of (he United Slates, reiideis it necessary to jielay no 
loiitjer answeiini; your esteemed favour «d June last, in which 
you riquesf me to state such information, rehitive to the burning 
<d the Fjiiladelphia, in (he harbour of 'I'ripoli, as I may possess, in 
aid (d your claim on our country, lor (he success ol" tliat jrallani 
enti-rprise. so ably and honorably performed i»y voiir late husband. 
1 rejjret that mv limited abiliiies di^cjualily me from portraying, 
in (hose j^btwing colours of v\hi( h (hat act is susceptible, the gal- 
lantry and perseverance with which it was performed by iiiy lute 
friend. 

You state that your late husband had given you to understand 
that tiie proj'-ct of Ijurninu: tliat friy:ate at her moorinjis, thereby 
to reniove a serious impediment (o the future operations of the 
S(|Uadron ajjain^t Tiipoli, oiiginated with him. This undeihtand- 
iiig was peifrctly correct; it <iid oiigitiate with your late husband, 
and he first vojunieered himself to carrv it into eft'ct, atid a^ked 
(he permission of Commodore Picble, off" 'I'lipoli. (oti fii-.>f discov- 
ering the frigate was lost to the s(|uadron,) t(» ett'ect it with (he 
schooner Knierprise, then under his command. 'I'he Commatnler- 
in-( hiel (houuht it too ha'/.aidous to be effected in that vt'av, but 
picimised your late husband that the object should be carried into 
effect on a proper occasion, and (hat he sh<»uld be the executive 
ofticrr when it was(bine. It was accordingly effected in the ketch 
Intrepid, hy your husband and 70 vidunteers from (he schooner he 
commanded, at <>;reat hazard, not otdy of life or liberty, but that of 
reputation, and in the season most perilous in approaching that 
coast. The recoil, ction (d" the difficulties and <lanners he had to 
encounter in that expedition, of which I was an eye-w itness, excites 
more and more my aHmiialion of his gallantry and enterprise — anil 
aithouuh the result shed a lu-tre, throughout Eumpe. over the 
American character, and excited an uiip iral bded emulation in the 
s(|uadioii. in (ujr coun'rv alone is where it has never been duly es- 
timale<l, or properly uoufc! stood. 

Couiai;e, and ^reat force .tloiie, could not have effected it. It was 
necessary n(»t only to put the smallest possible fuce to the hazard, 
but its success (b'|)eiide(l upon a very small force I), iiig Used. The 
genius and mental resources of llie executive officer, could alone 
compeiisatii fur llie want of force and numbers. Tu these deaiauds 



your late husband was found fully adequate — and hence the bril- 
liant result. The (liiiate w as cumplftely destroyed, in the midst 
of the enemy, and liis retreat I'lf-'Ctcd without the loss of a miin. 

Accept, my dear Madam, the assurance (d" my hijilu'st respect 
and esteem. CHAS. STEWART. 

Mks. Susan Decatur. 

XoTE — rommodore S'ewart was in the squadron when tlie Philadelpliia 
was recMptufi (1 He ccmmuiuUd llic h<-'i^ >\rin, w'licli x f ssel was enga- 
ged ill the < xptdi'ion. He was tlit senior ofticei-, and liad also volunteered 
Ins services; ai d (lie pieference was given to Coininodore Decatiii', because 
lie Iiacl been the first to i)ro[)()se it; and in constqnence (,f it, be wn> pio- 
moled over tbe heads of Stewart, Unll, t'bauncey, and many ot'iers ot the 
most distinguished officers of the Navy, who all admitted that he had de- 
served it. 

Philadelphia, Jan. 5th, 1827. 

My dear Mrs. Decatur: I received your letter of tlie 30th 
ult. tothiy, in which ytm re(|U('St iidoiination of tlie time your hus- 
band |)ro|)osed to destrov the (Viijate Philadelphia, in the li.irbour 
of I'lipoli. Without refiMring to my books and p;ipers, now at 
Bioilcntown, I could not <;ive vt»u thi* exact datfs which you wishj 
but this is of no moment, as the facts relative to that transaction 
will be sufficient. 

The squailron under the commafid of Commodore Preblp, had 
been detained some time, as they severally arrived at Gibraltar, 
(with the exception <d' the frij^ate Philadelphia and thf sc hooner 
Vixen) to counteract the hostile desiq:ns of the emperor of Morocco. 
As soon as the Commodore had accoiii()lished his olijects in that 
quarter, he proceeded oft' Tnptdi in the Constitution, accompanied 
by tlie schooner Kiiterprise, cotiuiiaiided bv your husb.md. On ar- 
rivinjr oft" Tripoli, where the Commodore expecteil to find the (li- 
gate Philadelphia and schooner Vixen blockading that port, he dis- 
c«»vered that frigate at mooiiiigs in the harbour, it was at tlii» time 
your late husband proposed to destroy tlie frigate with the Entfr- 
prise under his command; anil at thi^ time, as I stated in my for- 
mer letter to you. Commodore Preble assured your husband that 
the frigate should be destroy»'d, ami he should be the executive of- 
ficer when done, for his having so handsomely volunteered his ef- 
forts to effect it with the schooner Eiiteiprise 

I give you these facts as I received them from Comtnodore Pre- 
ble and your husband, at that time, as well as from several officers 
then on board the Constitution. 

Some time after this, I arrived at Syracuse in the Syren brie;, 
from Algiers, and offered my services for tiie expedition, which 
were accepted by Comtuttdore Preble. 

Some time after this, when the expedition was a subject of con- 
versation in the cabin of the Constitution, (which was freqtiently 
the case, from the extreme urgency on otir part to have it effectetl 
imtuediately, atid unwillingness on tlie part ol the Commodore to 
have it executed at so perilous a season of the year, and his reluc- 
tance to put any thing to hazard in a force originally so small, but 
then Viiuch reduced by the lo&s of the frijate and her craw,) t'aat 



I'etters vvero received from Captain ■Rainbridjrp, at Tripoli, T think 
bv way <•! Malta; which were partly written in ieninn juice, and 
which the Cnniinodore reati to us. alter renderiiiij ieiiibli" before the 
fire. In this letter tlie practicability of dest i oyiiig the tri}>;ate was 
stroiifjly iirjted by Capt. Hiiinbridjic* and the niode he pointeddut 
was by surprise, 'i'his »b spalch (u!ly confiruiinir all our ideas and 
previous corivi-rsations on that snbjeet, «lecid«Ml the Commodore at 
once to carry it intottiVct, which was done so«in alhr. in the man- 
ner set forth in his reports on that bubject, to the Secietary of the 
Navy. 

1 remain, with the highest respjct and esteem, your most obedi- 
ent servant, 

CHAS. STEWART. 



Letter froinCapt. Spence, relating to the recapture of the Philadelphia. 

Claremont, August 30, 1826. 

My Dkar Madam: I have had the honour to receive your letter 
of the 29th instant, and wilh great pleasure communicate the im- 
pressions I received on rejoining the squadron, soon after the de- 
struction of the frigate Philadelphia. 

I sailed from the United States in the Syren, Captain Stewaft; 
and, unfortunately for myself, was left on shcu-e at Leghorn, with 
the ship fever. During my absence, your illustrious husband gave 
his name to the world, adorned with imperishable renown. So soon 
as my heallh would permit, I joined the frigate Constitution, Com. 
Preble, at Syracuse. I had previously been informed at Naples of 
the recapture and destruction of the Philadelphia by him, who was 
justly tern.ed the ''terror of the foe." It was an achievement ad- 
mired as unexampled. At Naples you could hear of nothing but the 
*'brave Decatur" — and all foreii:n officers with whom I conversed, 
spoke of it as a most brilliant afi'ir, managed with the greatest ad- 
dress and intrepidity — an intrepidity which nothing but success 
could rescue from the imputation of rashness. 

The destruction of the frigate Philadelphia is associated with the 
name (d' Decatur only, and I had always supposed him to be the 
projector of the et)terprise, from the circumstance of his having 
been entrusted with its execution. There could be no other good 
reason assigned for the preference given him in the presence of 
older officers. 

1 am under the impression that Commodore Decatur was the first 
to suggest the recapture of the frigate Philadelphia: but to me, the 
merit of the affair appears to be wholly independent of the first 
suggestion. 

The f)reparation for the enterprise, and its execution, was by 
him, wljo accomplished it in h'lsuwu peculiar way, covering him- 
self and his companions with honour, and the country with a glory 
more productive of respect than all our previous tributes. 

ROBERT TRAIL SPENCE. 

Mr 3. S-- Decatuk- 



'iLettcr from Commodore Chnitncey, relating to the recapture of the 

Philadelphia. 

Navy Yard, New Vork, t^th Dec. 18-26. 

My Dear Madam: Your Iftfer, of the 24(h instant, I have this 
iiKUiieiit had the huiionr of" rcceiviti";. anil I hasten to state that I 
was not irt tlie Mediterranean when the Philadelphia was destroy- 
ed, but I jitiiit'd the s(|iia(lron soon alter, an<l it was generally un- 
derstood amongst tlu- officers that the plan for her destruction ttrigi- 
nated with your late husband: and that the execution of it was in 
consequence entrusted to his niHna;;einent. I acle<l under this im- 
pression when I urijed on the then Secretary of the Navy, the pro- 
priety ef promoting ihe jjallant Decatur to the rank of Post Captain. 

I have the honour to be, with great respect, dear madam, your 
faithful and obedient servant. 

I. CHAUNCEY. 

Note — Commoilore Clianiicey was one of the Officers over whose heads 
Conimoflnre Decatur uas proniott d for the recapture of the Pliiladelphia: 
and, as it ap;)ears, from the forej^'oiiit^ letter, at Commodore Chauncey's 
own sohciiaiioii. Tiiis speaks volumes ! ! 



Letter from Capt. Ridgely relativeto therecapture of the Philadelphia. 

■ ^ Portsmouth, (N. H.) Sept. 19, IS'26. 

My Dear Madam: I have a most distinct recollection of all the 
cirrumstatices attending the preparation for burninj»; the Philadel- 
phia; and I have n(» hesitation in saying that the whole originated 
with your late lamented husband — it was he who suggested to the 
late Ctunmodore Preble the possibility of the enterprise. 

I am, very sincerely, your friend and servant, 

CH. G. RIDGELY. 
' Mrs. Decatur. 



Letter from Capt. Crane relative to the recapture of the Philadelphia. 

Navy Yard, Charlestown, Sept. 14, 1826. 

My Dear Madam: 1 have the lionour to acknowledge the receipt 
of ynurs of the 22d ult. My recidlecttions are very distinct relative 
to the rt'capfure of the frigate Philadelphia. It has always been 
my belief that Commodore Decatur planned as well as executed 
tile enterprise. 

I have tlie honour to be, with the highest respect, voiir obedient 
Servant, W. M^C•RANE. 

Mrs. Decatur. 



m 

Letter from Commodore Rodgers, President of the Navy Board, rela- 
tive to the recapture of the Philadelphia. 

Washington, Nov. 15, 1827. 

Dear Madam: I have received your letter of (he 8th instant; and 
in reply, have to state, that I had always ^opposed the plan by 
whif h the (rigate Philadelphia was destroyed, was projetted by 
your husband, and that I never heard the sli<;hlest intimation to 
the contrary. 

With great respect and regard, I am, dear Madam, your obe- 
dient Servant, JOHN RODGERS. 
Mrs. Susan Decatur. 



Letter from Colonel Benton, of the Senate. 

My Dear Madam: The vessel to which your note refers, was the 
sloop of war Hermes, commanded by Captain Sir William H. 
Percy. This sloop led the attack upon Fort Boyer. Mobile Point, 
in September, 1814, and had the b(»ldness to anchor within musket 
shot, where the fire of the gari isori destroyed her. and blew her up. 
She was paid for by the act of Congress, upon the petition of the 
garrison, in March, 1816. Yours, most sincerely, 

Mrs, Decatur. THOMAS H. BENTON. 

March 8lh, lfe26. 



Commodore Decatur and Mr. Shaler to Mr. Monroe. 

U. S' Ship Gurriere, Bay of Algiers, ? 
July 4th, 1815. 5 

Sir: We have the honour to refer you to the (tfficial reports of 
Commodore Decatur to the Navy Department, for an account of the 
operations of this squadron, previously to our arrival off' Algiers on 
the 28lh ultimo. 

Having received information, that the Algerine Squadron had 
been at sea for a considerable tir)ie longer than that to which lluir 
cruises usually exletid, and that a desj)atch boat had been S'-nl from 
Gibraltar to Algiers, to inform them of our arrival in the Mediter- 
ranean, we thought they might have made a harbttur where they 
wouhl be in safety. We, therefore, whilst they were in this state 
of uncertainty, believed it a proper moment to deliver the Presi- 
dent's letter, agreeably to our instructions. Accordingly, on the 
29th ult. a tlag of truce was hoisted on board the (juerriere, with a 
Swedish flag at the main. A boat came otl' about noon, with Mr. 
Norduling. Consul of Sweden, and the Captain of the Port, who 
confirmed the intelligence we had before received, and to whom we 
communicated information of the capture of their Frigate and Brig. 
The impression made by these events, was visible and .deep. We 



31 

were roquested by the Cnptnin of the Porf, Mr. NoHulins declaring 
that he was not aiithoiized i(» acti to state the conditions on which 
we would ln;^k^• pi^ace; to which we replied, by ijiviiio; the letter of 
the President to the l)ey, and by a note from us t«» him, a copy of 
which (No. 1) we have the honour t(» transmit herewith. 

The Captain of the Port tlnti requested that hostilities should 
ceasi', peniiinij the iiej^oiiation, and that persons authorized to treat 
should <^o on shore; he and Mr, Norduiing both affirming that the 
Minister of Mai iiie had pledged himself for our security and return 
to our sliips, when we |>leased. Both these propositions were re- 
jected, and they were explicitly infurined, that the negotiation must 
be carried on, on board the fleet, and that h(»stjlities, as far as they 
respected vessels, ccmid n«)t cease. 1 hey leturned on shore. On 
the f(»Ilovvin}i; day, the same persons returned; ami informed us that 
thev were c(tmmissioned by the Dey ((» treat with us on the propo- 
sed b.isis, and their anxiety appeared extreme to conclude the peace 
immediately. 

We then hroujrht forward the model of a treaty, which we de- 
clared would nut be departed from in substance; at the same time 
declaring, that although the United States would never stipulate 
for payitig tribute under any torm whatever, yet that they were a 
m ignaniiiioiis and generous nati(m, who woulil, upon the presenta- 
tion of Consuls, do what was customary with other great nations 
in their friendly inteicourse with Algiers. 

The treaty was then examined, and they were of opinion that it 
would not be agreed to in its present form; and particularly request- 
ed that the article requiring ihe resti ution of the property thev had 
captured, and which had l)een distributed, might be expunged, al- 
leging that such a demand had never before been made upon Al- 
giers. To this it was answered, that the claim was just, and 
would l)e adhered to. They then asked whether, if the treaty 
should be siy;ned by the Dey. wa would engage to restore the cap- 
tured vessels; which we refused. They then represented, that it 
was not the present Dey who had declared the war, which they ac- 
knowledged to be unjust, conceding that they were whidly in the 
wrong, and had no excuse whatever; requesting, however, that we 
wituid take the case of the Dey into consideration, and upon his 
agreeing to terms with us nxtre favourable than had ever been made 
with any other nation, to restore the ships, which they stated W(tul(l 
be (»f little or n*o value to us, but be (d' great im[)ortance to him, 
as they would satisfy the people with the conditions of the peace 
we were going to conclude with him. We consulted upon this 
question, and determined that, consi<lering the state of those ves- 
sels, the sums which would be required to fit them for a passage to 
the Uiiited States, and the little probability of selling; them in this 
pirf ot the wiirld, we would make a compliment of them to his 
Highness in the state ihey then were; the Commodore engaginjj to 
lurnish them with an escort to this port. 'Jhis, however, would 
depend upiMi their signing the treaty, as presentui to them, and 
coul.l not appear as an article of it," but must be considered as a 
favour conferred on the Dey by the United States. They then re- 
quested a truce to deliberate upon the terms of the proposed trea- 



tv, wVikh was refust'd. They even pleaded for three hours. The 
reply was, ''not a minute— if your squadron appear in sight before, 
the treaty is actually sit;ned by the Dey, and the prisoners sent 
«»ft', ours will capture them." It was finally aj^reed that hostilities 
should cease, when we should p-rceive their boat coming oft' with 
a white flajr hoisted; the SweHish Consul pled<iing his woid of hon- 
our not to hoist it unless the treaty was signed, and the prisoners 
in the boat. They returned on sjiore; and although the distance 
was full five miles, they came back within three hours, with the 
treaty signed as we had concluded it, and the prisoners. 

During the interval of their absence, a corvette appeared in 
sight, which would have been captured, had they been detained 
one hour longer. The treaty has since been drawn out anew, 
translated by them, and duly executed by the Dey, which we have 
the honour to transmit herewith. 

Mr. Shaler has since been on shore, and the cotton and the 
money mentioned in the 4th article, have been given up to him. — 
They now show every disposition to maintain a sincere peace with 
us, whicli is doubtless ovving to the dread (d' our arios; and we take 
this occasion to remark, that, in our (»pini(m, the only secure guar- 
antee we can have for the maintenance of the peace just concluded 
with these people, is the presence in the Mediterranean of a re- 
spectable naval force. 

As this treaty appears to us to secure every interest within the 
contemplation of the Government, and as it really places the United 
States on higher ground than any other nation, we hive no hesita- 
tion on our |)art in fulfilling such of its provisions as are within our 
power, in the firm belief that it will receive the ratification of the 
President and Senate. 

We liave the honour to be, with great respect, &c. &c. 

STEPHKN DKCATUR.- 
WILLIAM SHALER. 
The Hon. James Monroe, Sec. of State. 



Commodore Decatur to the Secretary of State. 

U. S. Ship Guerriere, 
Messina, August 3ist, 1825. 

Sir: Since T had the honor of comntunicating to you the result of 
our negotiation at Algiers, I have visited Tut)is and Tripoli with a 
part of the squadron under my command. On my arrival at those 
places, I found that tiie British had, during the late war, violated 
the neutrality of those ports by cutting out frotn each (d them, two 
prizes of the American privateer Al)oclino. On my arrival at the 
Bay of Tunis, the facts I have stated, were communieated to me. 
The information of our having humiliated Algiers, and brought her 
to our ow n terms so speedily, had preceded us, and filled those peo- 
ple with an alarm that was apparent. I therefore concluded '.hat 
the present moment wouM be the best fm- ur^inir our claim for in- 
deuinification; and although I did not feel myself legally umhori/,ed 



•fo enter into a negotiation vvluch might couiproniit the peace of the 
nation, I considered the risk so sni;i!l, and th.e reputation tlie coun- 
try would acquire, so o;ix'at, should we succeed, tliat 1 decided to 
proceed in it. I accordingly addressed a note (of which No. 1 is a 
copy) to the prime inini-iter. To this note I I'eci'ived an answer, 
acknowledging the justice of the claim, but begging that the term 
of twelve months might be allowed, in which to pay the money, and 
requesting that I would go on shore to see the Bey. I replied that 
[still insisted upon immediate justice being done; and that until I 
had received assurances ol'this, I could not wait upv)n his excellency. 
On the following day I received a second cotnmunication from the 
prime minister, informing me that the Bey had decided to paj^ the 
money as I required. I then went on shore, and waited upon the 
Bey, who received me very civily. 

The Bev had ])aid into the hands of our Consul, who had been 
appointed agent for the privateer, S46,000. Tiiis was the amount 
specifieil in the protest. The prizes were valued at what they 
would have been then worth in America, at the war prices. 

The att'uir with Trip(di was arranged very much in the same 
manner, and with ecjuul ficility. The Bashaw had h.eard of our 
intended visit, and had collected twenty thousand Arabs, horse and 
foot. So soon as we appeared oif the town, Mr. Jones, our Consul, 
came on board. He had refused to hoist the !lag of the United 
States since the day the prizes were cut out of the harbour. No. 
3 is a copy of the communication I matle to the priiae minister on 
my arrival. In answer, he admitted the justice of the claim, but 
desired ail abatement of the amount. I considered myself bound 
to adhere to the amount stated in the protest. On the next day the 
Governor of Tripoli came on board; and it was agreed that it the 
Pacha would pay into the hands of the Consul tlie value of the two 
j)rizes, as estimated in the protest, anti would deliver on board the 
squailron ten Christian captives, the national flag should again be 
hoisted, jjrovided they would salute it with thirty-one guns, the 
number given to the Freneh flag — twenty-seven being the usual 
number. The money, amounting to SGo.OOvO, was paid into the 
hands of Mr. Jones, and eight Neapolitan captives, and two Danish 
captives, were sent on board the Sijuadron. No. 4 is a copy of the 
Cotisui's acknowledgment of the final termination of this aftair. 

{ liave the honour to be, with high respect aiid consideration, 
.Sii", your most obedient servant. 

STEPHEN DECATUR. 
The Hon. James Moniiok. 



Commodore Decatur lo the Prime Min'uler of Tunis. 

, U. S. Ship GUEURIERK, ^ 

Bay of Tu n is, J u ly 26, 1815.5 
Siu: I have the honour to enclose to your excellency a despatch 
from the Department of State of th3 U. States, by which you will 
jiorceive the fi-ieiidly disposition of my government towards the Bey 
and Regency of Tunis. When that despatch was written, it was be- 
lieved that an equally friendly disposition existed on the part of Tu- 
j;irf. With surprise, I understood, on my arrival in the Mcditcrra- 
5 



34 

nean, that the treaty existing between the two countries had been 
violated on the part of Tunis, first, by permitting two vessels, 
which had been captured by an American vessel, to be taken out 
of the port of Tunis by a British cruizer; and secondly, by sanc- 
tioning a company of Jew merchants, subjects of Tunis, in taking 
the property of an American citizen, at their own price, and much 
below its real value. 

In consequence of this information, so soon as we had obtained 
justice from Algiers for their aggressions, 1 hastened to this port, 
with the power and disposition to exact from tliis Regency an ob- 
servance of our treaty. I now require an immediate restitution of 
the property, or of its value. Your excellency will perceive the ne- 
cessity of the earliest attention to this communication, and of ma- 
king known to me the decision of his excellency the Bey, with the 
least possible delay. 

I have the honour to be, with great consideration, your excel- 
lency's nujst obedient servant. 

STEPHEN DECATUR, 
Com. in Chief of the Naval Forces in the Med. 



[From the Anahctic Magazine, Vol. I, for 1813.] 
• When Lieutenant Decatur returned to the United States, he was 
ordered to take command of the Argus, and proceed in her to join 
Com. Preble's squadron, then in the Mediterranean, and on his ar- 
rival there, to resign the command of the Argus to Lieut. Hull, 
and take the schooner Enterprise, then commanded by that officer. 
After making that exchange, he proceeded to Syracuse, where the 
squadron was to rendezvous. On his arrival at that port, he was 
informed of tlie fate of the frigate Philadelphia, which had ran 
aground on the Barbary coast, and fallen into the hands of theTri- 
politans. The idea immediately presented itself to his mind of 
attempting her recapture or destruction. On Commodore Preble's 
arrival, a few days afterwards, he proposed to him a plan for the 
purpose, and volunteered his services to execute it. The wary mind 
of tliat veteran officer at first disapproved of an enterprise so full of 
peril; but the risks and difficulties that surrounded it only stimu- 
lated the ardour of Decatur, and imparted to it an air of adventure, 
fascinating to his youthful imagination. 

The consent of the Commodore having been obtained, Lieuten- 
ant Decatur selected for the expedition, a ketch (the Intrepid) 
which he had captured a few weeks before from the enemy, and 
manned her with seventy volunteers, chiefly from his own crew. 
He sailed from Syracuse on the 3d February, 1804, accompanied 
by t!ie United States' brig Syren, Lieutenant Stewart, who was to 
aid with his boats, and to receive the crew of the ketch, in case it 
should be found expedient to use her as a fire ship. 

After fifteen days of very tempestuous weather,they arrived at the 
harbour of Tripoli a little before sunset. It had been arranged be- 
tween Lieutenants Decalur and Stewart, that the ketch should enter 
the harbour about 10 o'clock that nigi)t, attended by the boats of the 
Syren. On arriving off" the harbour, the Syren, in consequence of a 
ciiangc of wind, had been thrown six or eight miles without the in- 



35 

trepid. The wind at this time was fair, but fast declining, and 
Lieutenant Decatur apprehended that, should lie wait for the Sy- 
ren's boats to come up, it might be too late to make the attack 
that night. Such delay might be fatal to the enterprise, as they 
could not remain longer on the coast, their provisions being nearly 
exhausted. For these reasons, he determined to adventure into the 
harbour alone, which he did about eight o'clock. 

An idea may be formed of the extreme ha'/-ard of this enterprise 
from the situation of the frigate. She was moored within half gun- 
shot of the Bashaw's castle, and of the principal battery. Two of 
the enemy's cruizers law within two cable's length, on the star- 
board quarter, and their gun-boals within half gunsliot, on the 
starboard bow. All the guns of the frigate Mere mounted and 
loaded. Sucli were the immediate pei-ils that our hero ventured 
to encounter with a single ketch, beside the other dangers that 
abound in a strongly fortified harbour. 

Although from the entrance of the place wliere the frigate lay was 
only three miles, yet, in consequence of the lightness oi the wind, 
they did not get within hail of her until eleven o'clock. When 
they had approached within two hundred yards, they were hailed 
and ordered to anchor, or they uould be fired into. Lieutenant 
Decatur ordered a Maltese pilot who was on board the ketch, to 
answer that they had lost their anchors in a gale of wind on the 
coast, and therefore could not comply with their request. By this 
time it had become perfectly calm, and they were about fifty yards 
frffifilhe frigate. Lieutenant Decatur ordered a small boat that was 
alongside the ketch to take a rope and make it fast to tlie frigate's 
fore chains. This being done, they began to warp the ketch along 
side. It was not until this moment that the enemy suspected the 
character of their visitor, and great confusion immetliately ensued. 
This enabled our adventurers to get alongside of the frigate, when 
Decatur immediately sprang on board, followed by Mr. Charles 
Morris, midshipman. These two were nearly a minute on deck, 
before their companions could succeed in mounting the side. For- 
tunately, the Turks had not sufliciently recovered from their sur- 
prise to take advantage of this delay. They were crowded to- 
gether on the quarterdeck, perfectly astonished and aghast, with- 
out making any attempt to oppose the assailing party. As soon 
as a sufficient number of our men had gained the deck, to form a 
front equal to that of the enemy, they rushed in upon them. The 
Turks stood the assault but a short time, and were completely 
overpowered. About twenty were killed on the spot, many jump- 
ed overboard, and the rest fled to the main deck, whither they 
were pursued and driven to the hold. 

After entire possession had been gained of the ship, and every 
thing prepared to set fire to her, a number of launches were seen 
rowing about the harbour. This determined Lieut. Decatur to 
remain in the frigate, from whence a better defence could be made 
than from on board the ketch. The enemy had already commenced 
firing upon them from their batteries and castle, and from two cor- 
sairs that were lying near. Perceiving that the launches did not at- 
tempt to approach, he ordered that the ship should be set on fire, 



36 

\vhich was done, at the same time, in different parts. As soon as 
this was completoly eft'ected, they left her; and such was the ra- 
pidity of the flames, that it was wilh the utmost difHculty they 
preserved the ketch. At this critical moment, a most propitious 
breeze sprang up, blowing directly out of the harbour, which in a 
few minutes, carried them beyond tiie reach of the enemy's guns, 
and they made good their retreat, without the loss of a single man, 
and with but one wounded. 

For this gallant and romantic achievement, Lieutenant Decatur 
was promoted to the rank of Post Captain, there being at that time 
no intermediate grade. This promotion was particularly gratify- 
ing to him, inasmuch as it was done v;ith the consent of the officers 
over whose heads he was raised. 

In the ensuing spring, it being determined to make an attack 
upon Tripoli, Com. Preble obtained from the King of Naples the 
loan of six gun-boats and two bombards, which he formed into two 
divisions, and gave the command of one of them to Capt. Decatur, 
the other to Lieutenant Soniers. The squadron sailed from Syra- 
cuse, consisting of the frigate Constitution, the biig Syren, tb.e 
schooners Nautilus and Vixen, and the gun-boats. 

Having arrived on the coast of Barbary, they were for some days 
prevented from making the attack, by ailverse wind and weather. 
At length, on the morning of the 3d of August, the weather being 
favourable, the signal was made from the Commodore's ship to pre- 
pare for action, the light vessels towing the gun-boats to wind- 
ward. At 9 o'clock the signal was made i'or bombarding the town 
and tiie enemy's vessels. The gun-boats were cast oft", and ad- 
vanced in a line ahead, led on by Captain Decatur, and covered 
by the frigate Constitution, and the brigs and schooners. The en- 
emy's gun-boats were moored along the mouth of the harbour, un- 
der the batteries, and within musket-shot. Their sails had been 
taken from them, and were ordered to sink, rather than abandon 
(heir position. They were aided and covered likewise by a b^ig 
of 16, and a schooner of 10 guns. 

Before entering into close action, Capt. Docatur went alongside 
each of his boats, and ordered them to unship their bowsprits and 
follow him, as it was his intention to board the enemy's boats. — 
Lieut. James Decatur commanded one of the boats belonging to 
Lieut. Souiei-s' divisisin, but being further to windward than the 
rest of his division, he joined and took orders from his brother. 

When Capt. Decatur, who was in the leading boat, came within 
range of the fire from the batteries, a heavy fire was opened upon 
liim from them and the g«n-boats. He returneil their fire, and con- 
tinued advancing until he cause in contact with the boats. At this 
time. Com. Preble, seeing Decatur approaching nearer than he 
thought prudent, ordered the signal to be made for a retreat; but 
it was found that in making out the signals for the boats, the one 
for a retreat had been omitted. The enemy's boats had about forty 
men each; ours an equal number,twenty-seven of whom were Amer- 
icans and tliirteen Neapolitans. Decatur, on boarding the enemy, 
was instantly followed by his countrymen, but the Neapolitans re- 
niaine<l biiiind. The 'forks did not sustain tl;e combat, hand to 



37 

hand, widi thnt firmness they had obtained a reputation for: in ten 
minutes the deck was cleared; ei^^ht of them souj;ht refuge in the 
h(dd; and of the rest, some fell on the deck, anil others jumped 
into the sea. Only three of the Americans were wounded. 

As Decatur was about to proceed out with his prize, the boat 
whicli had been commanded by his brother came under his stern, 
and informed him that they had enj^aged and captured one of the 
enemy; but that her commander, after surrenderin<;, had treacher- 
ously siiot Lieut. James Decatur, and pushed oft' with the boat, and 
was then making for the harbour. 

The feelings of the gallant Decatur, on receiving this intelli- 
gence, may more easily be imagined than described. Every con- 
si<leration of prudence and safety was lost in his eagerness to pun- 
ish so dastardly an act, and to revenge the death of a brother as 
basely murdered. He pushed within the enemy's line with his 
single boat, and having succeeded in getting alongside of the re- 
treating foe, boarded her at the head ol" eleven men, who were all 
the Americans he had left. 

The fate of this contest was extremely doubtful for twenty mi- 
nutes. All t!ie Americans except four were now severely wound- 
ed. Decatur singled out the commander as the peculiar object of 
his vengeance, 'ilie Turk was armed with an espontoon — Deca- 
tur with a cutlass: in attempting to cut off the head of the weapon, 
his sword struck on the iron, and broke close to the liilt. The 
Turk at tliis moment made a push, which slightly wounded him in 
the right arm and breast. He immediately seized the spear, and 
closed with him. A fierce struggle ensued, and both fell — Deca- 
tur uppermost. By this time the Tuik had drawn a dagger from 
his belt, and was about to plunge it in the body of his foe, when 
Decatur cau<iht his arm, and shot him with a pistol which he had 
taken from his pocket. During the time they were struggling on 
the deck, the crews rushed to the aid of their commanders, and a 
most sanguinary conflict took place; insomuch, that when Decatur 
had despatched his adversary, it was with the greatest difficulty 
he could extricate himself frotn the killed and wounded that had 
fallen arounri him. 

It is with no common feeling of admiration that we record an in- 
stance of heroic courage and loyal self-devotion, on the part (»f a 
common sailor. During the early part of Decatur's struggle with 
the Turk, he was assailed in the rear by one of the enemy, who had 
just aimed a blow at his head, with his sabre, that must have been 
fatal; at this fearful juncture, a noble hearted tar, wlio had been 
so badly wounded as to lose the use of his hands, seeing no other 
means of saving his commander, rushed between him and the up- 
lifted sabre, and received the blow on his ovvn head, which frac- 
tured his skull. We love to pause and honour great actions in 
humble life, because they speak well for human nature. Men of 
rank an<l station in society often do gallant deeds, in a manner 
from necessity; their conspicuous situation obliges them to do so, 
or their eagerness lor glory urges them on; but an act like this we 
have mentioned, so desperate, yet so disinterested — done by an 
obscure, unambitious individual, a poor sailor, can spring from 



38 

nothing but innate nobleness of soul. We are happy to add, that 
this generous fellow survived, and now receives a pension from 
government. 

Decatur succeeded in getting with both of his prizes to the squad- 
ron, and next day received the highest commendation, in a general 
order, from Commodore Preble. 



From the North American Review. 

"The frigate Philadelphia, Captain Bainbridge, by an unforeseen 
and inevitable accident, had already been captured by the Tripol- 
itans. This misfortune, which threw a number of accomplished 
officers and a valient crew into oppressive bondage, and which had 
shed a gSoora over the whole natioii, as it seemed at once to increase 
the difficulties of peace an hundredfold, was soon relieved by one of 
the most daring and chivalrous exploits that is found on our naval 
annals. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, then one of Commodore Pre- 
ble's subalterns, proposed a plan for recapturing or destroying the 
Philadelphia. The American squadron were at this time lying at 
Syracuse. Agreeably to the plan proposed, Lieutenant Decatur, in 
the ketch Intrepid, four guns and seventy-five men, proceeded under 
the escort of the Syren, Captain Stewart, to the harbour of Tripoli. 
The Philadelphia lay within half gunshot of the Bashaw's castle, 
and several gun-boats and cruisers surrounded her with zealous 
vigilance. The Intrepid entered the harbour alone about eight 
o'clock in the evening, and succeeded in getting near the Philadel- 
phia between ten and eleven o'clock, without having awakened 
suspicion of her hostile designs. This vessel had been captured 
from the Tripolitans, and assuming for this occasion her former na- 
tional appearance, was permitted to warp alongside, under the al- 
leged pretence that she had lost a!! her anchors. The moment the 
vessels came in contact, Decatur and his followers leaped on board, 
and soon overwhelmed a crew which was paralyxed with conster- 
nation. Twenty of the Tripolitans were killed. All the surround- 
ing batteries being opened upon the Philadelphia, she v/as imme- 
diately set on fire, and not abandoned until thoroughly wrapped in 
flames; when a favouring breeze springing up, the Intrepid extri- 
cated herself from her prey, and sailed triumphantly out of the bar 
hour, amidst the liuht of the conflagration." 



From the Washington Journal. 
FROM ALGIERS. 

Extract of a Letter to the Editor, dated Algiers, August 25, 1826. 

A few hours only are left me to write to you and my friends. — 
The vessel which affords us this occasion for Marseilles, belongs to 
Curacoa, owned by Capt. dishing Stetson, formerly of Boston, and 



39 

is loaded with Campeachj wood, by merchants of that city. She 
was bound from Campeachy to Marseilles, and within 60 miles of 
that city was visited by the Algerine Squadron, cruising against 
Spanish commerce, and being found without a Mediterranean pass, 
was brought in here. Hud it not been for the undaunted spirit and 
inflexible character of Mr. Shaler, this vessel would have been con- 
fiscated. The cargo was actually confiscated by the Minister of 
Marine, Vtkel Hargee, but was subsequently liberated by the 
Bashaw, on certain conditions. Our Consul declared to the Minis- 
ter that the confiscation would be the cause of war. The Minis- 
ter, under evident restraint, and even fear, exclaimed, "A:m/ shey 
American!'^ Who are the Americans — "are they the heavens," 
that we are eternally opposed by them? This tliscussion with the 
Bashaw proved him to be a man of fine judgment, and a Prince of 
elevated and magnanimous sentiments. He said that he well 
knew the stipulations of the treaty between the Regency and the 
United States, /o?' he was nol, as informer days, unable to read, and 
would scrupulously observe them. If the most precious cargo of 
the Indies, of pearls, and ingots of gold, were brought into this 
port, and proved to be American property, they should be held sa- 
cred, and restored. I was charmed with the urbanity and dignified 
manners of this barbarous chief. 

[To whom is this nation indebted for this state of security.'' I do 
not hesitate to answer, to my gallant husband and his brave asso- 
ciates!!! S. DECATUR.] 

Extract of a despatch from Major Henry Lee, Consul General of the 
United States, at Algiers, dated Algiers, ^Oth December, 1829, to 
Mr. Van Buren, Secretary of State, 

'"I mention these circumstances not only to evince the efficacy of 
the mode of proceeding which was prescribed to me, but in order 
to mark the elevation to which our national character and influence 
in this quarter, have been advanced by the prudence and ability of 
my worthy predecessor, and by the good con(kict of our naval com- 
manders in the Mediterranean; but chietly by the prowess of one 
whose services and glory could not save him frotn im early and a 
hapless fate. In this distant region, on this barbarous shore, in 
tongues that are strange and various, the name of Decatur is remem- 
bered in honour and repeated with respect; his country profiting by 
his valour long after his mortal frame has mouldereii into dust. So 
valuable may be the virtues {)f one oflic^r to his fellow-citizens." 



Lkgal Opinion of Walter Jones, Esq. 
Remarhs upon the Claim of Mrs. Decatur, as representative of the late 
Com. Decatur, in behalf of herself and of the officers and men of the 
ketch Intrepid, for compensation in the nature of prize money, for 
the capture of the Philadelphia in the harbour of Tripoli. 

Tliat the ciiptors might, if not peremptorily enjoined to the con- 
trary by their orders, have brought off their prize, and reaped the 
pecuniary reward designed them by (he law, is a matter of the liigh- 
cst prubabiiity; and approximates ce;'(ainly as near as any unaccom- 



40 

plisheil event can do. They found her completely equipped and fit- 
ted for sea, and prepared for action, — even to ''^e load in"- of her 
guns. After all the time spent in the action; in p. fparations to exe- 
cute the order for the destruction of the ship; in the effectual appli- 
cation of the means of destruction, according to the details of the or- 
der; and in waiting; to see the progress antl effect of the same, and 
to repel the apprehended attempts of the enemy to retake the ship, 
before her destruction had been placed beyond doubt; after all this 
lapse of time, the captors effected their retreat, in their own ves- 
sel, without the loss of a man. I apprehend that the means and 
the chances of escape in the captured frigate, were incalculably 
greater and more certain, if the captors had been at liberty to cut 
her cables and hoist sail, the instant they had masteretl her decks. 
Two obstacles were to be apprehended and guarded against, wheth- 
er they retreated in their own vessel, or in the prize; recapture 
and impediments of navigation. Against the first, the superior 
means of defence in the frigate are too obvious to be insisted on: 
I take itf'or granted, that her faculties as a sailer, the depth of wa- 
ter, and other circumstances, n)u»t have opened her a wav to t!ie 
sea, at least as safe and speedy as that of the ketch Intrepid. But 
the time which would thus have been gained, must be held conclu- 
sive. The advantage it would have given the captors is incalcula- 
ble: — and even if it were possible to suppose that the inlrinsic dif- 
ficulties opposing their egress in the frigate, were greater than what 
they encountered in the ketch, (an hypothesis deemed wholly in- 
admissible) still the advantage of time must more than have com- 
pensated them. Com. Preble framed his order when at a great 
distance from t!)e scene of action: and, I'easoning from probabilities 
anil circumstances in general, he inferred that the enteiprise, even 
to tiie extent ol taking and destroyitig the frigate, would have been 
attended with more dillicultyand loss than actually occurred. He 
did not anticipate the consequences, to their full extent, of the 
panic terror, witli which the suddenness of the attack and the he- 
roic bearing of the assailajits struck the enemy: he probably anti- 
cipated desperate resistance, and a serious sacrifice of life. It was 
obviously impossible fur liim, at that distance, to judge of the ac- 
tual state and condition of the frigate, or of the existing- means and 
facilities for bringing her off'; which must have depended upon con- 
tingencies wliich he had no possible means of ascertaining: such as 
the losses to be sustained by the assailants in carrying h.er; the 
state of her equipment lor defence or for sailing; of the wind, 
weather, »Sic. Mer destruction by so well-planned and daring an 
enterprise, was deservediv considered as of the ulmost importance 
to the operations then going on against Tripoli; as well from its 
moral elfect upon the enemy, as the abstraction of so much of his 
positive force. This great object, the Commodore concluded from 
the facts and circumstances then known to him, would have been 
put in to!) much hazard by an attempt to push the enterprise to the 
point ol' s'.ili more signal and glorious success, by bringing off the 
prize in the face of the enemy. But it turned out, in the event, 
that this would liave been far the safer and easier achievement. — 
'Tis understoud, ir.'de'.'d, to be ttje opinion of the most experienceil 



il 

and skilful naval coirmanders. that if Com. Preble had con-liTcted the 
enterprise in perso he would, upon the spot, and with a full view 
of all the circumstances, have changed his plan, and brought off the 
frigate. This is well known to have been the decided and clear 
opinion of the illustrious commander, who first suggested, and then 
executed the enterprise with so much glory and advantage to him- 
self and his country. 'Tis well known that while he faithfully and 
punctually fulfilled the orders of his superior in command, he would 
gladly have followed the bent of his own genius, by taking the course 
pointed out by the circumstances and the event of the action. 

As to one of the questions which have been suggested in this case, 
whether the captors acquire a beneficial property and interest in a 
maritime prize of war, before adjudication, I have, on a former occa- 
sion, been called upon to give it full consideration: and the opinion 
then expressed, and the reasons advanced in theaiiirmative, I yet ad- 
here to, with a confidence corroborated by the success with which they 
Avere maintaiiied before a tribunal of pre-eminent learning and talent. 

The general principle, deduced from the maritime law of nations, 
has been settled by repeated decisions, of the highest authority in 
this country; and stands clear of any possible doubt. The transfer 
of the property of prize, from the one belligerent to the other, at 
the instant of the capture; a property for which the victor's fiiig is 
the all-sufficient badge, and which can be divested only by recap- 
ture or by the sentence of a competent court; — the consequent capa- 
city of the captor to vindicate his right of property and possession 
by every species of possessory action, or other judicial remedy inhe- 
rent to every lawful possession, coupled with a beneficial interest, 
have been distinctly and conclusively established by a concurrence of 
numerous decisions, both in the former federal court of appeals, and 
in the present supreme court of the U. States. By these the pro- 
perty is held to be so indefeasibly vested in the captor, by the mere 
capture, without adjudication as prize, that it was not divested by 
his setting fire to his prize at sea, and giving her up to destruction, 
for the want of adequate force to bring her into port. This was de- 
cided by the federal court of appeals, in the Mary Ford,* and recon- 
sidered and approved by the supreme Court in the L'lnvincible.t 
An Antierican ship found the Mary Ford in this desperate condition 
at sea, extinguished the fire, and brought her safe iiito port; where 
she was claimed both by the original British owner and by the 
French captor: the claim of the former was rejected, and restora- 
tion on salvage decreed to the captor. In the Josepha SeciindaX it 
was decided that an unadjudicated prize, brought by the captor in- 
to a neutral port, might there be absolutely forfeited by a breach 
of the local laws of trade. A stronger illustration of the rights ac- 
quired by mere capture, before condemnation, need not be disin d: 
tor here, an indefeasible transfer of the property was held to have 
been operated by the sole act of the captor; ai}d expressly for the rea- 
son that his title is vested by virtue of the capture alone, and instan- 
taneously that it is achieved: subject to be divested only by re- 
capture, or by the sentence of a competent tribunal.!! 

* 3 Dal. 188. 1 1 Wheat. 259, ^5 Wheat. 357. 

liFor some additional illustration, vid. the Revolution, 2 DaJ. 1. The Neustra 
Senora, 4 Wheat. $01. 
6 



4« 

Such are the clear and unquestionable rights of property incident 
to maritime capture, jwre belli, as deduced Irora the maritime law of 
nations. That there is no distinction, in this respect, between the 
rights of belligerent captors in general, and those of the officers and 
men belonging to the public and private armed ships of the United 
States, under the several acts of Congress by which their respective 
rights are recognised, has been settled, after full discussion and ma- 
ture consideration, by the late Board of Commissioners for the adju- 
dication of claims upon Spain, under the treaty with that power, com- 
monly called the Florida treaty; which was the occasion, before men- 
tioned, which had formerly led me to examine the question. It was 
there presented in various cases of captures during the late war with 
Britain, some by our public ships of war, some by privateers; whose 
prizes had been seized or despoiled in Spanish ports, before adjudi- 
cation. In these cases, it was decided that the captors in both de- 
scriptions of capture, had acquired such an interest in their respec- 
tive piizes, by the mere capture, without any adjudication, as enti- 
tled them to demand indemnity from Spain, just as any other pro- 
prietors, who had suffered the like injuries, and, consequently, that 
they ought to be admitted as claimants under the treaty. It was 
never imagined that, when the acts of Congress superadded the 
solemnity of condemnation, as one of the requisites to the full and 
perfect enjoyment of the fruits of prize, it was intended to make it 
the preliminary requisite to the investiture of the right of property. 
By the terras of the act, it is made necessary for the purpose only of 
authorizingthe disposal of the prize, and the distribution of the prize 
money. The specific property in the prize itself, was not in the 
contemplation of the legislature; they speak only of the "proceeds" 
and the distribution ofthe "prize money" resulting from the dispo- 
sal of the prize alter condemnation: it is for this only that the 
captors are to await tlie process of regular adjudication.* This pre- 
caution of public policy, to prevent the irregularities and abuses 
that might follow from the unlimited disposal and appropriation of 
prizes by captors, without any judicial sanction ofthe capture, has 
been more distinctly pronounced and emphatically enjoined in the 
case of privateers; — who are expressly forbidden to break bulk, or 
make any other disposal or conversion of their prizes, before due 
condemnation by a competent tribunal.! It never entered into the 
conception of Congress to make any change in the rule of public 
law, by which the transfer of the property of prize from the one 
belligerent to the other had been determined. To have placed the 
rights ofthe officers and men of our own navy upon a foot of ine- 
quality, in this respect, with those of other nations, would have 
been not more injurious to the individuals, than a disparagement of 
the belligerent rights of the United States a sovereign power. — 
The only office and effect assigned to a sentence of condemnation, 
by the various acts of Congress on the subject of recapture, salvage, 
and prize, are merely to annex to the right of property, acquired 

* Vid. Act of April 2.3, ISOO, ch. ?,3, for the better government of the Navy, 
sects. 5 and 6, vol. 3, p. 360. 

t Act of June 26, 1S12, ch. 107, sec. C, val. 4, p. -150. 



jure belli, the qualities of bciiio; disposable; so as to let the captors 
into the actual fruition of the proceeds, and to bar the right of post- 
jiiuiny in the original owner, as opposed to the rights of recaptors 
and vendees. Beyond this, the greatest sticklers, elsewhere, for the 
uecessity of adjudication to consummate the property of prize, have 
not pushed the doctrine in practice. As to the case of the Elsebe,* 
decided by Sir William Scott, I do not think that any fault can be 
found with the decision upon the point directly put in issue by that 
case; — which was simply that the government may, by a treaty of 
peace, lawfully restore a prize before condemnation; and that the 
question of compensation to the captor rests with the government, 
and nut with the court of prize. 1 should not have doubted the 
power of the British government, or of any other government, to do 
this, in virtue of the Eminent Domain incident to sovereignty; but 
upon the indispensable condition of making just eompensation for 
the private rights of property affected by the measure: a condition 
which public morality and public law have made co-extensive with 
the power; and which has, in express terms, been annexed to it by the 
Constitution of the United States.! The principle derogates nothing 
from the captor's inherent right of property, in virtue of the mere 
capture; because it extends to every species and quality of property 
belonging to the citizens or subjects of the sovereign, without dis- 
tinction, whether it be qualified in its nature, or cotisummate and 
perfect. In the argument of the court, however, in the Elsebe, 
some dicta a.re uttered, going rather beyond the principle necessary 
to be decided in the case. These may be referred to certain pecu- 
liar and favourite doctrines of that court, on the general necessity 
and effect of a sentence of condemnation, which have, in a great 
measure, resulted from the policy and interest of Britain in her re- 
lative condition as a maritime power: but from which to infer a sen- 
tence of condemnation to be an indispensable prerequisite to the 
transfer of the property of prize from one belligerent to another, 
would be not only to set aside the whole current of decisions in our 
own courts, sustained by those of the great majority of civilized na- 
tions: but would very far transcend any practical decision in Eng- 
land, either of the courts of admiralty or of common law; — notwith- 
standing some certain dic^a of the former. — Their courts of common 
law have clearly decided, that the captor acquires a beneficial inte- 
rest in the prize, upon which he may effect insurance, "from the 
moment the victor hoists his flag on board the conquered ship. "I — 
The present claim, like that of insured upon insurer, is strictly a 
claim for indemnity; — in which it is universally held to be utterly 
immaterial whether the property be qualified and require some ul- 
terior process for its consummation, or be consummate to every prac- 
tical ptirpose of perfect fruition. It has already been shown, that 
upon general principles, and according to all lavv^ and precedent in 
this country, the property of the captor, in an unadjudicated prize, 
is consummate to every beneficial purpose but that of being chang- 

* 5 Rob. 155. . 

t Note.— This doctrine has been adverted to, and pretty fully explained in 
the memorial of Mr. Meade, presented to the President some years ago — and 
al;out to become a subject oi" discussion before the present Congress. 

i 1 Marsh, on Insur. 107-S. 



u 

ed into the shape of prize money for distribution; and of being as- 
signable, ad infinitum, discharged from the right of postliminy; and 
when t!ie actual decisions (^f the English coiirts of admirally and 
common law come to be critically examined and compared, they 
will be found to give the same practical result. 

Whether Congress, when they awarded compensation, in lieu of 
prize money, to the captors of the Guerriere and Java, proceeded 
upon the ground of strict right or of equitable indemnity, cannot per- 
haps be positively asserted. But either way, these precedents come 
up fully (0 the principle of the present claim; — if they do not go be- 
yond it. In those cases, the destruction of the prizes necessarily re- 
sulted from the aition, and from the ioitune of war: — while in this, 
the captors might have preserved their prize, and enjoyed the fruits 
of their toil and danger, but for the intervention of an overruling or- 
der, positively forbidding it. In other respects, it is submitted with 
confiderice, ttnit there can be no defect of merits, either positive or 
cornpaiative, in the captors of the Philadelphia, to exclude them 
fiom the benefit of these precedents; whatever the principle upou 
which they were established. W. JONES. 

December 9, 1825. 



Legal Opinion of R. S, Coxe, Esq. 

CASE. 

An American man of war having succeeded in effecting the cap- 
ture of an enemy's vessel of superior force; having entirely dispos- 
sessed the enemy, and obtained undisputed possession, in obedience 
to peremptory orders, destroys the prize without bringing her into 
port, and before obtaining a decree of condemnation in a prize court; 
have such captors any legal claim to the value of the captured pro- 
perty, as against the United States? 

OPINION. 

The claim of captors to the proceeds of prizes taken by them from 
the enemy, is founded on the 5th sec. of the act of Congress of April 
23, 1800; which enacts that "the proceeds of all ships and vessels, 
and the goods taken on board of them, which shall be adjudged good 
prize, shall, when of equal or superior force to the vessel or vessels 
making the capture, be the sole property of the captors." 

By the law of nations, and independently of any statutary provi- 
sion, all captures enure to the exclusive benefit of the government. 
Most nations, however, have, for the purpose of stimulating those in 
their service to greater vigilance and activity, granted this interest, 
or a portion of it, under special circumstances, to the individuals by 
whom the prizes are made. The statute to which I have referred, 
contains tlie terms and conditions upon which this right is transfer- 
red in the cases specified under our own law. It operates as a con- 
tract between the nation and the captors. 

It might be imagined that the language of the statute implies that 
condemnation as prize of war is an essential preliminary to the vest- 
ing of this right. I cannot, however, bring ray mind to the conclu- 



45 

sion, that Congress, in this indirect manner, designed to commit the 
country upon the important and much litigated question, when the 
right of property is completely vested in the captors. Some writers 
on public law have held that condemnation is essential; others, of 
equal authority, have sanctioned the opposite doctrine. — From ob- 
vious motives of policy, Great Britain has lent her countenance to 
the former opinion, hue it has never yet been absolutely settled in 
this country; and it cannot easily be believed that Congress design- 
ed to determine the question in this collateral manner. Indeed, there 
seems little necessity for insisting upon it as indispensably requisite, 
except in the case of neutral property which has become obnoxious 
to capture by some violation of belligerent rights. The right of the 
neutral, presumptively unquestionable, ought to be divested only by 
a judicial decree fixing upon him the ofttuce which involves as its 
consequence the forfeiture of his property as prize. Where, how- 
ever, the property is avowedly and notoriously hostile, condemna- 
tion as prize is not universally necessary, and may be regarded as 
little more than a mere formality. Our own courts have held that 
simple belligerent possession confers a right which can be question- 
ed only by superior force of arms on the part of the enemy, or its 
validity judicially determined in the courts of the captors themselves. 
At all events, under the strictest decisions of the English courts, an 
inchoate right vests immediately by the very act of capture, which 
is recognized as susceptible of transfer, of insurance, and other acts 
of ownership, and which is distinguishable only in degree from the 
same rights when perfected by the decree of a prize court. 

In this view of the case, I am unable to discriminate between a 
right of this description, and any other species of property, which, 
by the constitution of the United States, it is prohibited to take for 
public purposes without compensation. If a capture has been le- 
gally effected, if the captors are in undisputed possession of the 
prize, and the government, to subserve its own purposes, surrenders 
it to the enemy, relinquishes it to a neutral, employs it in military 
operations, by which it is lost to those interested in the proceeds, 
or consigns it to inevitable destruction, it appears to me that it is 
bound by every principle of equity and of law to compensate the 
individual captors to the full value of their respective interests. — 
The constitution equally protects the citizen in the enjoyment of 
those rights of property which are inchoate and remain to be per- 
fected by some ulterior proceedings, as of those which are absolute 
and indispensable. 

Upon another ground, 1 conceive the claim to be equally well 
founded: even upon the supposition that coirdemnation by the ad- 
miralty was an essential preliminary to the vesting of the right in 
the captors. If the performance of this condition has been preven- 
ted by the act of the government itself, it is by every principle of 
law precluded from availing itself of the fact of such non-perform- 
ance. To interpose an insuperable impediment in the way of the 
performance of a condition, is tantamount to a waiver of it. If, 
then, by the authority of the government or of superior officers, 
who must be considered as the organs of the government, captured 
property is taken out of the hands of the captors and appropriated 



to public purposes, and the captors are thus deprived of the powers 
of obtaining a condemnation, they stand in the eye of the law in the 
same predicament, and their rights are as perfect, as if the decree of 
condemnation had actually passed. The physical power belongs to 
the government; and that may as well be exerted after the prize is 
brought into port, delivered into the custody of the marshal, and the 
cause is ready for judgment, as at the moment of capture, or at any 
intermediate period of time. An interposition of this kind it is 
usual to put as one of those extreme cases which cannot practically 
be anticipated, because it would be indecorous even to suppose the 
government guilty of so gross an act of injustice. 

The principles which have been stated seem to have been recog- 
nized and sanctioned by the highest authorities in our country, od 
some memorable occasions. It is necessary to refer only to one, 
which strikes- me as perfectly coincident. In the summer of 1805, 
a squadron under the command of Commodore Decatur, captured an 
Algerine frigate and a brig — they were in possession of the captors. 
With a view to promote the public interests.the negotiator for peace 
agreed to restore them to the enemy — not by treaty, but as a vol- 
untary donation after the treaty was completed, and because of their 
small value to us, as well as the great impression upon the enemy, 
as to our resources, which such an act would produce. No con- 
demnation had passed, the prizes had not been sent to the United 
States— yet Congress considered the rights of the captors as perfect, 
and their interests as sacred; and they were accordingly compensa- 
ted. The same principle applies with equal strength to the case of 
a voluntary destruction by order of the government, as to that of a 
voluntary surrender. If any dilFerence exists between the cases, it 
consists in this single circumstance: that in the one case the surren- 
der was in virtue of a general authority, which subsequently recei- 
ved the sanction of the government; in the other, the destruction 
was incompliance with previous orders. 

The only judicial decision which I am aware of, which can be 
thought to contravene the principles which I have laid down, is 
one made by Sir William Scott, in December, 1804. (The Elsebe, 
5 Rob.) That was the case of a Svve<Jisli vessel, which had been 
captured, and before condemnation, orden^d to be restored; and the 
captors insisted upon their rights, notwithstanding the order of the 
government for the restoration of the property. The very distin- 
guished judge, by whom the point was determined, viewed the 
question as on- of great delicacy and difficulty, but he finally de- 
cided against the claim. Upon this decision, it is important to re- 
mark, 1. That the date of it being subsequent to the destruction of 
the Philadelphia, it cannot with fairness be held to govern the case, 
2. The principle which rests at the foundation of the judgment, viz: 
that a decree of condemnation is essential to transfer the property, 
is not yet established in this country. It has been adopted in En- 
gland from considerations of policy. The same motives, if they ex- 
sted to the same extent in the U. States, have not yet been permit- 
ted to influence the decisions of our judicial tribunals. 3. The pre- 
rogative of the sovereign was considered as involved ia the ques- 



47 

tion, and influenced the decision of the court: here no such collateral 
motive exists. 4. The constitutional prohibition to apply the pro- 
perty of individuals to public purposes, without compensation, 
does not operate in England, to stay the arm of the government in 
disposing of the interests of its subjects. 5. The language of the grant 
to the captors in England, is much more restricted than that of our 
own statute; it directs that the prize may be lawfully sold and dis- 
posed of, "after the same shall have been to us finally adjudged law- 
ful prize, and not otherwise;" recognising in express language, the 
necessity for a condemnation as an essential prerequisite before any 
interest vests in the captors. 

If, under these circumstances. Sir Wm. Scott felt the difficulty and 
delicacy of the question before him, it can scarcely be doubted that 
had he been sitting in an American instead of an English court, ad- 
ministering justice under our statute, and guiding himself by the 
principlesof our constitution and government, he could scarcely have 
hesitated in sanctioning the validity of the claim of the captors. 

On the whole, my opinion is, that in every case in which the 
captors have been prevented by the act of the government or its law- 
fully authorized agents, from proceeding to adjudication and obtain- 
ing a decree of condemnation, the fair and just interpretation of the 
statute entitles them to remuneration to the full value of the pro- 
perty captured. As, however, no suit can be sustained against the 
United States, to enforce any pecuniary claim, the only resource is 
an application to the justice and equity of Congress. 

The for'-going opinion assumes for its basis the two facts, that the 
vessel might have been brought out of the enemy's port; and flfat 
this was not done, by order of the commander. The situation of the 
Philadelphia frigate, not more than from two miles to two and a half 
from the moutli of the harbour; the wind favourable, which would 
have enabled her to pass over this space within a quarter of an hour, 
justify the minds of those who are not skilled in nautical matters, 
the decided opinion of Captain Jones, than whom no more compe- 
tent judge can be found, and of the pilot who accompanied the ex- 
pedition. The orders of Commodore Preble are equally decisive 
of the other question. 



Georgetown, D. C, Dec. 2nd, 1825. 



RICHARD S. COXE. 



Copy of the last Will of Com. Stephen Decatur. 

I, Stephen Decatur, of the U. S. Navy, now residing in the 
City of Washington, do make this my last Will and Testament, as 
follows: 

I give and devise to my beloved wife, Susan Decatur, and her 
heirs, all my estate, real, personal and mixed, wheresoever situated; 
and I apncint my friends Littleton Waller Tazewell, of Norfolk, 
Robert G. Harper, of Baltimore, and Geo. Bomford, of the City of 
Washington, together with Mrs. Decatur, my wife, to be Execu- 
ors of this ray Will. 



4S 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 
twenty-second of March, one thousand ei<>;ht hundrei! and twenty. 

STEPHEN DECATUR, [l. s.] 

Signed, scaled, published, and delivered, on the day and year 
aforesaid, by the Testati)r,|as his last Will and Testament, in pre- 
sence of us, who, at his request, and in his presence, and in the 
presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as 
witnesses. 

Jno. Rodgers, 

Thos. Sim, 

Saml. R. Trevitt.^ 



LIST of Vessels destroyed, recaptured, or restored, with the amounts 
allowed by JicAs of Congress for the same. 



LAWS U. STATE6. 


VESSELS CAPTUBJMG 


vess'ls captur'l 


AMOUNT. 


REMARKS. 


Vol. IV., 


p. 522 


Constitution 


Guerriere 


-, 50,000 


Destroyed 


ib. 




do. 


Java 


50,000 


do 


ib. 




Wasp 


Frolic 


25,000 


Recaptured 


, ib. 


543 


Hornet 


Peacock 


25,000 


Destroyed 


• ib. 




- 


Detroit - 


12,000 




ib. 


693 


. 


Lake Erie ves- 




^ 








sels 


255.000 


> Purchased 








To Capt. Perry- 
Lake Cnamplain 


5,000 


) 


ib. 


835 


. 












vessels 


310,000 


Purchased 


Vol. VI., 


p. 17 


Hornet 


Penguin 


25,000 


Destroyed 


ib. 


77 


Wasp 


Avon and Rein- 




> Destroyed 








deer 
And one year's 


50,000 








pay - 




, 


ib. 


8G 


Constitution 


Levant 


25,000 


Recaptured 








Cyane 


40,000 


Purchased 


ib. 


115 


Squadron 


Algerine ves- 












sels 


100,000 


Restored 








Barataria ves- 




■■ 








sels 


50,000 


Captured 


ib. 


118 


Land and naval 


To be paid out 




from 






force 


of fines and 
forfeitures 




pirates 


ib. 


366 


Preble, Stewart, 












&c. 


Transfer 


2,500 




Vol. III. 


p. 590 


John Adams 


Mpshouda 


8,594 


Restored 


ib. 




Philadelphia 


Mirboha 


5,000 


do 


Vol. VII 


., p. 40 


Two gigs - 


Black Snake - 


3,000 


Destroyed 






United States 


Macedonian 


100,000 


Purchased 



To which add the British sloop of war Hermes, destroyed by the garrison of 
Fort Boyer, Mobile Point, in September, 1814, a*^ ' paid for (full value, $40,000,) 
by act of Congress. 



■i9 
PRIZE LISTS 

OF THE 

GURRIERE, MACEDONIAN, AND JAVA: 

THE ONLY SHIPS OF THE SAME CLASS OF THE PHILADELPHIA 
THAT HAVE EVER BEEN CAPTURED BY OUR NAVAL FORCES. 



A STATEMENT shovsing the proper distribution of the sum of one 
hundred thousand dollars, received from the Secretary of the Navy 
of the United States, on the ''loth March, 1813, being part of the 
sum of two hundred thousand dollars awarded to the ''Commander, 
Officers, and Crew of the United States' Frigate United States, 
in lieu of the British Frigate Macedonian, their prize, captured 
by the said Frigate United States," on the Hoth day of Octo- 
ber, 1812, and taken by the Government of the United States at a 
valuation of two hundred thousand dollars. 



Whole sum to be distributed, as above, 
(at this time,) 

Class First. 

Consisting of one Commander, - 
Class Second. 

Consisting of 6 Sea Lieutenants and one 
Sailing Master, 

Class Third. 

Consisting of one Chaplain, two Lieute- 
nants of Marines, one Surgeon, one Pur 
ser, one Boatswain, one Gunner, one 
Carpenter, four Master's Mates, 
Class Fourth. 

Consi^tingof 15 Midshipmen, 2 Surgeon's 
Mates, 1 Captain's Clerk, 3 Boatswain's 
Mates, 2 Gunner's Mates, 2 Carpen 
ter's Matfs, 1 Ship's Steward, 1 Sail 
maker, 1 Master at Arms, 1 Armourer, 
1 Cockswain, 1 Cooper, 
Class Fifth. 

Consisting of 1 Gunner's Yeoman, 1 
Boatswain's Yeoman, 8 Quarter Mas- 
ters, 9 Quarter Gunners, 1 Sailmaker's 
Mate, 3 Sergeants of Marines, 2 Corpo- 
rals of Marines, 1 Drummer, 1 Fifer, 

5» f 1 Ship's Corjioral, 

^; I 16 Captains ot Guns, 

e g -^ 2 Captains of Tops, 

■JJ^I 1 Captain of Forecastle, 

^ 11 Captain after Guard, 
Sixth Class. 

Consisting of 173 Seamen, 148 Ordinary 
Seamen, 47 Marines, 9 Landsmen, 4 
Bovs, - - - . . 






3A 



"^i 



^ ^ 

^ », 



12 



H 



Share of each. 



Amount 
of each 
class. 



Total. 



1428 57 1-7 



833 33 1-5 



564 51 19-31 



^ 



381 



20' 4S0 



260 41 2-3 



91 86 3 « 



!$ 15,000 
10,000 

10,000 
17,500 



12,600 

35,000 
ion, 000 



1^100,000 



50 



STATEMENT showing the distribution of the sum oj $50,000 

among the crew of the Frigate Constitution, f op the capture of the 
British Frigate Java. 



RANK. 


1 


1 

1 


.2 

1 

3-20 


Sum 
award- 
ed. 


Pro- 
portion 

"A 
each. 




Captain, - - . . . 


1st 


$50,000 


#7,500 




Lieutenants and Sailing Master, 


2d 


6 


2-20 




833 


33 


Chaplain, Lieutenants of Marines, Surgeon, 
Purser, Boatswain, Gunner, Carpenter, 
and Master's Mates, 


3d 


11 


2-20 




454 


54 


Midshipmen, Surgeon's Mates, Captain's 
Clerk, Boatswain's Mates, Carpenter's 
Mate, Ship's Steward, Sail maker. Master 
at Arms, Armorer, and Gunners' Mate, 


4th 


34 


3^-20 




257 


35 


Gunner's Yeoman, Boatswain's Yeoman, 
Carpenter's Yeoman, Quarter Masters, 
Quarter Gunners, Sailmaker's Mates, Ser- 
geants and Corporals of Marines, Drum- 
mer, Fifer, and extra petty officers. 


5th 


40 


2^-20 




156 


25 


Seamen, Ordinary Seamen, Marines, Boys, 
and all other persons doing duty on board. 


6th 


393 

485 


7-20 


$50,000 


44 


52 



Frigate Constitution — Hull — Capture of the Gurriere — $50,000 
voted by Congress to the Captors. 

Oreiv of the Constitution — whole number A71 — Distribution: 



CLASS. 


Number in 
each class. 


Amount dis- 
tributed. 


Proportion to 
each class. 


Aggregate 
amount to 
each class. 


Amount to each 
class. 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 


1 

7 

9 

29 

36 

389 


$•50,000 


3-20ths. 

2-20. 

2-20. 
3^-20. 
2^-20. 

7-20. 


$7,500 
5,000 
5,000 
8,750 
6,250 

17,500 


$7,500 
714 28 
555 55 
301 07 
173 61 
44 98 




471 


50,000 





Note — The original prize lists may be seen on application to Charles W. 
Goldsborough, Esq. Secretary to the Navy Board. 



51 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
January 6, 1629. 

Mr. Hoffman, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to which was 
referred the bill from the Senate, entitled "An act to compensate 
Susan Decatur, widow and representative of Captain Stephen Deca- 
tur, deceased, and others," reported the same without amend- 
ment.* 

AN ACT to compensate Susan Decatur, widow and representative of Captain 
Stephen Decatur, deceased, and others. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of 
one hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appro- 
priated, as a full compensation and remuneration to Susan Decatur, 
widow and representative of the late Captain Stephen Decatur, 
commander, and to the officers and crew of the United States' 
schooner Intrepid, for the capture and destruction of the Tripolitan 
frigate, late the United States' frigate Philadelphia, out of any mo- 
ney in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That the said sum of one 
hundred thousand dollars be divided among, and paid (under the 
direction of the Secretary of the Navy) to, the commanding officer 
of the squadron, and to the surviving officers and crew of the said 
schooner Intrepid, and the representatives of such as are dead, in the 
manner following, that is to say: 

To the widow of the late Com. Preble, commander of the squadron, $5,000 00 
To Susan Decatur, widow and legal representative of the late Stephen 

Decatur, commander of the expedition, the first class, - - 31,412 42 

2d Class, three persons, who will receive each $4,188 32 - - 12,'564 96 

"' ^" - .- . , 2,991 65 3-5 - 14'958 28 

1,357 32 5-9 - 12,215 93 

1,006 80 9-11 - 11.074 89 

304 13 1-7 - 12,773 52 



3d do 


5 


do 


do 


do 


4th do 


9 


do 


do 


do 


5th do 


11 


do 


do 


do 


6th do 


42 


do 


do 


do 



.$•100,000 



*Tlus bill passed the Senate by a majority of 32 to] 3. 

Note.— The above distribution was calculated and recommended by the Na- 
vy Commissioners, as being, in their opinion, the most equitable that could be 
applied to the case. It preserves the same disparity of proportion for the different 
grades ot officers and men, that prevails under the prize act, when applied to a 
regular crew. ' ' 



CONTENTS. 



Pose 

Circular of 15th December, 1825, - - - . - 3 
Letter from Capt. Ja'b. Jones, respecting the practicability of taking 

the frigate Philadelphia from the harbor of Tripoli, - - 8 
Certificate of Salvadore Catalano, the Pilot, ■ - - - ib, 
Capt. Jones' opinion of the distance the Philadelphia was from the en- 
trance of the harbor at the time she was set fire to, - - ib. 
Circular of December 1st, 1826, - - ... g 
Hon. Littleton W. Tazewell's opinion of the validity of the rlaii,., - 14 
Letter from Dr. Ridgcly, Surgeon of the frigate Philadelphia, - ib 
Statement of M. M. Noah, late U. S. Consul of Tripoli, - - 15 
Commodore Preble's orders to Lieutenant Decatur, - - - \% 
Lieutenant Stephen Decatur's report to Commodore Preble, - - 20 
Extracts from Commodore Preble's Official Despatches, - - 21 
Commodore Preble to J. L. Cathcart, Feb. 19, 1804, - - - 23 
Sidi Mahammed Dghies, Minister at Tripoli, to Capt. Bainbridge, - ib.- 
Colonel Lear to Commodore Preble, Algiers, 23d March, 1804, - 24 
Commodore Preble to the Secretary of the Navy, recommending the 

promotion of Lieutenant Decatur, - - - - ib. 

Letter from Com. Rodgers, President of the Navy Board, relative to the 

distribution of the sum that shall be appropriated by Congress, - ib. 

Exhibit accompanying the letter of Com. Rodgers, ' - '- - 25 

Letter from Com. Warrington, Navy Commissionel-, on the same subject, ib. 

Letters from Com. Stewart, relative to the recapture of the Philadelphia, 26 

Letter from Capt. Spence on the same subject, - - - 28 

Letter from Com. Chauncey on the same subject, - - - 29 

Letters from Capts. Crane and Ridgely, and Com. Rodgers, ditto, - ib. 

Letter from Col. Benton, of the Senate, relative to the Hermes, - .30 

Commodore Decatur and Mr. Shaler to Mr. Monroe, - - ib. 

Commodore Decatur to the Secretary of State, - - - 32 

Commodore Decatur to the Prime Minister of Tunis, - - 33 

Extract from the Analectic Magazine, ... - 34 

Extract from the North American Review, - - - - 38 

Extract from the Washington Journal, - - - - - ib. 

Extract of a despatch from Major Henry Lee, Consul General ofthe U. 

States at Algiers, 20th Dec. 1829, - - - - - 39 

Legal Opinion of Walter Jones, Esq. - - - - • ib. 

Legal Opinion of R. S. Coxe, Esq. ----- 44 

Copy of the last Will of Com. Stephen Decatur, - - - 47 

List of Vessels destroyed, recaptured, or restored, - - - 48 

Prize List of the Frigate Macedonian, - - - - - 49 

Prize List of the Frigate Java, - - - - - - 50 

Prize List of the Frigate Guerriere, - - - - - ib. 

An Act to compensate Susan Decatur, widow and representative of Ste- 
phen Decatur, deceased, and others, .... 51 



t^ 



mrf. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



011 782 896 7 



